Stuck on the Puzzle
by Ermwut
Summary: What if Naomi had left as soon as Sophia had kissed her and the betrayal had never happened? A different look at the gangs final year of college from Naomily's POV
1. Chapter 1

This kiss was different. I had almost missed that frightened hesitation from before Emily and I had gotten together; the challenge in our eyes, daring the other person to make the first move, but really the dare was hiding apprehension, the fear of rejection. Every kiss Emily and I have shared since we got together had been anything but hesitant, always comforting or seductive or stolen, or a mixture of the three with a dash of a thousand other words, but never hesitant. Everything with Emily felt right.

And that's why this was wrong.

"Naomi wait!" A voice called after me, but I was already out of the train, sprinting, shoving, doing all I could to get away from her. Her footsteps faded but I couldn't stop running. The air was thick and cold in my throat, and my heart was thudding violently in my chest. I couldn't breathe anymore, and instantly cursed myself for my smoking habit. But I couldn't help it, I had to run, had to distance myself, had to go.

I was at least a twenty minutes walk from my house but that didn't matter, I was only ten from Emily's, the one place I had to be.

I stopped minding the puddles and just plowed through them, my shoes filled with water as well as my eyes. Fucking puddles. Fucking Bristol weather and it's shitty timing. Fucking me and my shitty timing.

"Bloody fucking hell!" I screamed as my foot hit a submerged brick and I fell face first on the asphalt. I stood up and did a quick spot check. I defintely would have bruises onmy knees and my left arm was scraped pretty bad. My clothes were soaked to the skin and my sodding phone was probably ruined, but I wiped the rain off my face and kept running. My foot was throbbing and I honestly felt like this, this right here was a fucking nightmare; sprinting and hurtling and suffering and feeling like I would never get to where I was going or far enough away from where I'd been. Or maybe it'd be never getting back to Emily.

I had spent enough of my life running away, away from her, away from everyone. I was always terrified that if I let them catch up with me, I'd spend the rest of my life watching them walk away. But then there was Emily. She was the first person that had ever _chased_ me. At first I ran, and I ran like hell. But then, JJ and Katie tripped me and Effy cheered me on and finally I just, I let her in. And at first our relationship was a lot of catching our breath; me getting used to being with her and her realizing I wasn't running away. And then we just tried to keep pace, but Emily started moving faster and I got off-track. So here I am now, for the first time, not chasing or fleeing but running _to_.

And I kept running and didn't dare stop, practically skidding to a halt on their doorway and slamming my hand into the door so hard I think I heard a crack.

There was a faint voice in my head reminding me that Jenna was at Emily's house; Jenna and Katie and her warped little perv of a brother and her Dad and oh fuck Emily. I had no clue what I was going to say or do or tell her or-

"Naomi?" Emily asked, obviously taken aback by my disheveled appearance, both in looks and in my actual showing up at her house. I had made some stupid, flimsy excuse for why I couldn't see her today and had been pretty rude about it. But yet, here I was. And here she was in that damn purple v-neck JJ gave her and wrapped in a navy blue blanket that dragged on the floor.

I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat. I collapsed in her arms, buried my face in her neck and began to sob. If I hadn't been crying I would've smiled at the way she wrapped her arms around me, enveloping me in her blanket cocoon.

"Oh God, Naoms are you okay?" She murmured, the worry evident in her voice. She stroked my hair and placed sweet, soothing kisses on my shoulder. After a few minutes of this she pulled away, tugging on my arm "For Christ's sake, come inside." I remained firmly in place with my eyes locked on the door step. "Everyone is out but me, come on." I finally let her lead me into the living room and onto the brown leather couch. "I'll get some tea, stay here." It felt really weird being in Emily's house, I'd only ever been there twice; once when I tried to see her and ran into Jenna, and another time when she busted her knee whilst drunk off her ass and Katie threatened to tell her parents it was my fault if I didn't grow a pair and carry Emily home. Luckily, as in praise the fucking lord, her parents were chaperoning James' class trip and weren't there.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Emily asked as she returned with two cups of tea and a towel. I shrugged. She sat down next to me, putting the tea on the coffee table, and started again. "Naomi,"

I finally looked up and realized how freaked out I had made her. Her eyes were full of concern, a me-sized water stain covered her shirt, she was frowning anxiously and had worry lines on her forehead.

Then suddenly, her tongue darted out to wet her lips. I could tell she was about to speak but I couldn't help myself. I crashed my lips onto hers and pushed us down onto the couch, eliciting a cute little shocked gasp from Emily. I had to be closer, I needed her closer, and now. I knotted one hand in her hair and slid my tongue across her bottom lip, my other hand slipping down her stomach. She shivered under my touch and I moved my hand to the small of her back, pulling her impossibly closer. I slid my hand back to her stomach and began pushing up the offending purple shirt.

"Naoms." She whispered, pulling away just slightly, her eyes boring into mine, obviously searching. "What is this?"

"Well, I'm _trying_ to take your shirt off but-"

"Naomi!" She groaned and I kissed her forehead, trying to rid her off the worry lines, before I shifted so I was lying on my side next to her.

"Sorry, I was just nearby and I missed you." She tried not to smile but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch.

"Hon, you just showed up drenched on my doorstep, as in at _my_ house, after being kind of a bitch this morning, sobbing and then you start snogging me. I'm just getting kind of mixed signals here." She kidded and poked me in the ribs. Her smile dropped when she realized I wasn't giggling. "What happened?"

"You're going to get mad." I warned and she rolled her eyes.

"Look, babes, I love you. You can tell me anything."

"Fine. I went to an open day," I felt Emily stiffen beside me. "Look I know we've been discussing going traveling next year, but I want... I want to keep my options open, okay? All I could think about on the train ride to Goldsmiths was how terrified I am, okay Ems? I'm terrified, because I don't want to completely put my life on hold and then something happen to us and I'm left with no uni, no plans and fucking hell, no you. So I went to a stupid fucking open day."

"Well," She swallowed. "Did you like it?" She murmured, leave it to Ems to ask if I fucking enjoyed my betrayal.

"Sure Emily, I don't know I was too busy bloody worrying about how mad you'd be to even concentrate, not to mention that fucking-" I suddenly felt a rising nausea just thinking about the second crime I had to confess to.

"What? That fucking what?" She asked, her face unreadable.

"Girl. There was a girl." I muttered and her eyes narrowed, I couldn't tell if she was angry or hurt.

"A girl." She repeated in monotone, and turned onto her back, her eyes burning holes in the ceiling. I wanted to reach out to her but I knew I should keep my hands to myself.

"She was there for the open day too, she goes to Roundview, her name is Sophia. We were in the same group for the tour." I explained. Emily exhaled as if to say 'Go on.' "Anyway, we talked and she was on the same train back." I saw Emily's jaw tighten.

"So did you _fuck_ her?" The sharpness of her tone took me completely off guard and I was hurt she thought I was capable of that.

"No! Do you really think I'd shag some random girl behind your back?" I countered, the pain evident in my voice.

"Thought her name was Sophia." She quipped, with a pointed glance. I stood up so she would have to look at me, but she still avoided my stare. I huffed and in a flash straddled her and grabbed her hands, restraining her gently.

"Look," She averted her eyes. "Hey!" She snapped to attention, her annoyance and hurt obvious. "We sat together on the train, I was telling her about you and how you want to go traveling and how I was scared and she was complaining about her parents and how they don't support her art and and she started crying and I held her hand to comfort her and she took it the wrong way and she kissed me. I immediately pulled back and left the train at the next stop. Then I ran all the way from the train station to here and I'm so sorry Emily." I could tell she was trying to take it all in but I could tell from her face she was stuck on the fact that Sophia had kissed me.

"How was it." Her voice completely flat.

"What?"

"The kiss." Her eyes flamed.

"It was shit, Emily. Utter _shit_, it wasn't right because it wasn't you, okay? This-" I leant down and kissed her passionately, she responded but I can tell she's holding back. "is the only kiss that makes me feel anything. I've shagged other people, I've snogged other people, but none of it has made me feel even a fraction of what I feel when I kiss you. Even when you don't kiss me back." That got me a small smile which I know is a restrained huge grin.

Then the smile faded and Emily's cheeks flushed. Her eyes looked up at me, embarrassed and sad.

"So you still... You know... Love me then?" She asked, in the tentative voice that makes me feel so fucking guilty from all the times I rejected or left or hurt her.

"I love you so much that it fucking makes me crazy, Ems."

"Same could be said for you, Ms. Campbell, same for you." And she finally lifted her head up to kiss me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Emily**

So okay, Naomi kissed another girl. In a weird way I guess that's better than if it had been a boy, right? Plus, technically Sophia kissed her, not the other way around. Yes the thought of another girl's lips on Naomi's made me cringe and honestly really fucking mad, but she didn't cheat, that's what was important. And of course the Open Day pissed me off, but I _was_ being a little too pushy, a little too soon. Pardon me for having too tight of a grip, I'm scared one day she'll slip away if I loosen it.

"Ems, Ems, _Ems_." Naomi snapped, trying to get my attention. I turned away from my book to see she had returned from her shower. "Shame you didn't come" She paused realizing what she had said and I snorted a laugh before she continued "In the shower." Another giggle. She huffed but then smiled. "I wish you had showered with me, it would have been lovely." She assured charmingly and kissed my nose, flattening the book onto my chest. I was slightly distracted realizing she had only a towel on.

"Sorry I missed it, but _somebody_ happened to show up on my doorstep in the middle of a fucking bombardment!" I scolded, waving my copy of _All Quiet on the Western Front_ in the air. She chuckled as she pulled on her jeans and a T-shirt, allowing me a brief perv. Shaking my head I regained my composure and moaned "If Kat dies I swear I will cry." She coughed, raising her eyebrows knowingly and I hit her with a pillow.

"Oi! I didn't say a thing!" She yelped innocently, holding up her hands in surrender, which escalated into a full blown pillow fight. "Had enough yet, Ems?" Naomi asked as she pinned me down and put the pillow over my face.

"God Naomi I never pegged you as the smothering girlfriend type..." Katie teased, surprising both of us. Naomi removed the pillow and tossed it aside but didn't budge off of me.

"God Katie I never pegged you as the perverted kid with binoculars type..." Naomi taunted with a sweet smile. Katie frowned and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, Lezzers, come on we're going out. Cook is having everyone meet at Keith's." She beckoned, still standing in the door.

"When?" "Why?" Naomi and I asked at the same time, and then started giggling, rolling onto our backs.

"You two are so fucking irritating." She groaned, only making us laugh harder. "Eff is home." We stopped laughing upon hearing her serious tone. I was surprised that Naomi spoke up first.

"Are you okay?" She asked, and I smiled at the concern in her voice.

"Yeah, fine." Katie muttered, but her lisp hinted otherwise.

"When is everyone meeting?" I asked before the situation could get awkward. She checked her watch.

"Like now." She shrugged.

"What the hell, Katie? We have to get ready!" I scolded and she smirked.

"Wait, you two normally _prepare_ to see the world? I thought you were all about the 'just rolled out of bed and found this on the floor' look..."

"Nah, Katiekins, it's called the 'just fucked and actually satisfied' look. You should try it sometime!" Naomi teased and kissed me hard for good measure. When she pulled away I was a little dizzy and saw a blurred Katie storm out of the room.

"See you at Keith's you muff munching bitches." She shouted and slammed the door before leaving.

"We probably should get ready." I advised and Naomi shot me a devious smile.

"Care to make a fashion statement?" She breathed, her voice low and her eyes dark. I hardly had time to answer before she started kissing me again.

By the time we showed up to Keith's everyone was already there, and by everyone, I mean the Notorious Nine; Me, Naoms, Katie, Panda, Effy, Thomas, JJ, Freddie and Cook. There were maybe three other people in the entire pub. It had its bizarrely comforting aroma of booze and sweat, as if Keith had a Cook-scented air freshener plugged into the wall. The gang was already seated in our usual booth and there were shots laid out on the table.

"Red, darling!" Cook yelled, wrapping me in a huge hug and I blushed, stealing a worried glance at Naomi. Ever since I had gotten home from France he had been flirting with me nonstop and treating Naomi like she was one of the blokes. I wasn't sure if they had gotten in a fight or if he was just taking the piss, but it was starting to really fuck with everyone's head.

"James," Naomi greeted flatly and he smiled mildly before turning back to me.

"Lookin' beautiful tonight, Ems. Come take a seat next to the Cookie Monster!" He shouted and practically yanked me onto his knee. Naomi sat awkwardly next to us, pulling me back onto the bench and closer to her.

"Afternoon ladies." Thomas smiled warmly, he couldn't wave because Pandora had both of her arms wrapped around his left and he was holding a pint with the other.

"Thommo and I have missed you loads!" Pandora yelled and the other patrons in the pub jumped, a little stunned by her outburst. We on the other hand were quite used to it.

"You too Panda," I chuckled and looked around the table, locking eyes with Effy. Naomi spoke before I had the chance.

"Hey Eff. How was Italy?" She asked, her voice unreadable. I knew she had missed her and was hurt by Effy's lack of communication.

"Lovely, really." She said nonchalantly. Well, good to see she was still the same old Effy.

"Bloomin' heck Eff, tell us about the boys! Did you surf and turf any?" Pandora exclaimed and Effy wagged her finger.

"Later Panda, we'll have girl talk." She promised with a wink, before giving Katie a knowing glance. I wondered what that was about. After half an hour of awkward small talk and heavy drinking, Cook spoke up.

"So let's play a little game, eh?" He proposed. "Suggestions?" Freddie shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, his spliff hanging from his mouth.

"I got one." Everyone turned to him immediately, a little surprised. Effy had a small smirk on her face. "So uh, right, yeah. You say two truths and a lie-"

"And everyone tries to guess which one is the lie and blah blah blah we're not in primary school anymore, Freddie." Katie sassed and Freddie laughed.

"Didn't let me finish. This is Alcoholic two truths and a lie, so if you guess you have to take a shot, and if you're wrong, you have to chug a beer. If you're caught lying, you have to take two shots, and if you get the most right-"

"You get a prize!" Cook bellowed, raising his arms in the air.

"What exactly is the prize?" JJ asked warily.

"That'll be decided later, Jay." Cook said dismissively before rubbing his hands together. "Alright, everyone take a shot to get started and then we'll get going." We all downed our shots and I nearly choked on mine. Naomi patted my back soothingly.

"Christ! Cook what is this stuff?" I asked, eyeing the deceptively clear liquid.

"Aw just a bit of vodka." He chuckled.

"And some of my Dad's moonshine!" JJ added with a proud grin.

"Naomikins why don't you start us off?" Cook proposed, tilting his beer towards her. She rolled her eyes and sat forward with a perfect poker face.

"Right, let's see. I was born in April." True. "I've been to Barcelona." I wasn't quite sure on that one. "I hate Blondie." I downed a shot.

"You love Blondie!" I revealed and she smirked at me before kissing me on the cheek.

"That I do." She chuckled and downed her two shots coolly.

"My turn!" Pandora yelled, jumping in her seat. "Caterpillars are my favorite animal, I'm allergic to Polyester and chocolate milk is my favorite drink." Cook knocked back a shot.

"Not allergic to Polyester, Panda. I've worn it around ya before." Cook laughed, flashing a toothy grin at the pair of them. Panda chuckled, pulling two shots in front of her and Thomas seethed.

"Alright, how about you JJ?" I asked, and he grinned excitedly. I felt Naomi stiffen beside me and I laced our fingers together. I nudged her with my forehead and she cracked a small smile.

"I'm an expert on the ukulele, mango juice calms me down and I sleep in my boxers." Katie took a shot and pointed at him challengingly.

"No way you play ukulele." JJ grinned.

"On the contrary I began playing ukulele when I was eight." He explained and Katie grabbed a pint with a growl. I took a shot.

"You sleep in full out pajamas with teddies on them, Jay." I laughed, and JJ blushed.

"Nice one Ems! No shots for you though, Jay." Cook laughed. "I've had a threesome, I got chlamydia earlier this summer, and I love reggae." Naomi took a shot.

"Cook, you have not had a threesome!" She laughed and Cook smiled smuttily at her, wrapping an arm around me.

"Would you girls like to change that?" He flirted and she pulled me away from him.

"No thanks, James. Don't think you could keep up." She grinned and he threw his head back and guffawed the way that only Cook can. Once he'd pulled himself together and taken his shots he pointed to Effy.

"You now, girl." She raised her eyebrows cockily.

"If I could fuck anyone in the world it'd be the Elephant Man, I can pick things up with my toes, and I fucked my brother's best friend." Everyone sat pondering for a moment before Naomi's shot glass hit the table.

"Nope! You never had sex with Sid!" Naomi shouted. We all looked at her curiously. "Cassie, Sid's girlfriend, used to stay at my house every once and a while and she told us everyone Sid fucked so ha!" Naomi smiled triumphantly, and it was quite possibly the most adorably sexy face anyone had ever made. Effy clapped lightly, a proud smirk on her lips.

"I speak three languages, I can run a mile in less than five minutes and I have an excellent immunity to spices." Thomas offered and Cook downed a shot with a cackle.

"Only French and English, man." He corrected and Thomas took his shots slowly, glaring over the glass at cook.

I sometimes wondered how all of us were still friends; between the grudges and the breakups and betrayals and insults. I guess it was just by ties, Effy was stuck with Panda, I was stuck with Katie, Freddie and JJ were stuck with Cook, and now Thomas was stuck with Pandora and Naomi with me. I'm really good mates with Thomas and JJ, Naomi is close with Eff and (most of the time) Cook, Katie and Effy have a weird bond and somehow it holds us all together like a weird glue made of booze and drugs and partying and occasional super deep talks.

The clink of several shot glasses snapped me out of my reverie. Naomi had apparently guessed Katie's and Cook got Freddie's.

"EMILY! You're up babes." Cook yelled and I tried to think of three. "Ah wait this is the tie breaker!" JJ scribbled on his napkin.

"He's right, Naomi and Cook are both tied with three correct guesses." He announced.

"So what's the prize, Cook?" Freddie asked. Cook tapped his fingers together like a classic villain before proposing:

"Winner gets a kiss from Emily!" Naomi gave him the classic Campbell death glare and I chuckled.

"Nice try, Cook." I giggled and he poked me in the stomach.

"Nah girls I'm serious! Best two out of three. Come on Naoms," He grinned. "Or are you scared I know your bird better than you?" I groaned internally. Naomi did _not_ turn down a challenge, especially when she was drunk. She slammed her hand on the table.

"Fine, James. You've got a deal." I turned to her, shocked.

"Do I get any say in this?" I asked, bewildered.

"Nope." They said together, their eyes locked.

"Naomi!" I scolded and she chuckled. I sunk down in between them and crossed my arms, pouting.

Five minutes later the challenge was set up at a different table. Cook and Naomi sat facing each other and I sat in between, with Naomi possessively holding my left hand and me glaring at her. On the table were at least thirty shots. Effy and JJ came up with the new rules and everyone gathered around to hear. JJ spoke up.

"So Emily, you are to say a specific category, such as favorite animal. Then, before they can answer, they must take a shot. Whoever has correctly answered the most within a minute wins-"

"The kiss." Effy added and opened a timer app on her phone. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Panda yelled.

"Favorite class." I muttered.

"English" One for Cook.

"Movie"

"Short Circuit." Naoms.

"Animal."

"Pig." Naomi.

"Drink."

"Jaegerbomb's" I was getting less worried now, Naomi was killing it.

"Actor,"

"Uh-Hepburn!" Naomi!

"Color."

A Pause.

"Yellow." Shit, Cook.

"Drug."

"MDMA." Cook laughed triumphantly.

"Biscuit?" I asked while he was chuckling.

"Garibaldis." Naomi smiled at me.

"Band."

"Arctic monkeys, kid." Cook.

"Song." Cook waved his hand manically in the air, trying to think of the name, while Naomi stared holes in the shot she was waiting to take, coming up blank.

"Fifteen seconds!" Katie yelled, looking over Effy's shoulder at the time. Naomi's head shot up.

"Is it that Robert Wyatt song?" She asked and I shook my head.

"Nah, it's Good Weekend, Art Brut, yeah? We bonded over that song mate!" He bellowed and I nodded. Dammit that put Cook in the lead. I shot Naomi a look as if to say 'Pull it together'.

"Place." I knew Naomi was the only person who knew the answer.

"The lake." We smiled at the memory, and for a moment I forgot we were playing the game.

"Shirt." Katie interjected.

Cook pointed dumbly to the one I was wearing. I looked down and nodded, I had put on my favorite black tee with the white graphic with all the letters and numbers on it. I glared at Katie.

"Five seconds!" Thomas reminded.

"Fuck, uh cake?" I asked, remembering the first time I had come here.

"Double chocolate chip cookie!" Cook practically screamed, knocking several of the shots to the ground. The alarm sounded and he started thrusting and wolf howling. Naomi crossed her arms.

"Tosser!" She yelled and went to take a slap at him and completely whiffed. She was off her ass. Cook pulled JJ in to kiss him on the cheek.

"Cheers, Naomi. So Ems, where's my kiss?" He chuckled and everyone stood in anticipation. I looked over at Naomi, she was brooding but waved her hand.

"Go on, a deal is a deal." She shrugged and I frowned, a little hurt. Cook slung an arm around me.

"What, babe? Worried I'll turn you?" He teased and I smiled coquettishly, figuring I might as well give him something. I briefly locked eyes with Naomi before I wrapped my arms around his neck, his eyes widened and he slid his arms around my waist, pulling me into him. He tasted like the shots but something undeniably _Cook_, like cigarettes and mint gum. He was a good kisser, I'd give him that, but I pulled away when he tried to push his tongue into my mouth.

JJ and Freddie howled and I was expecting Cook to join but he just stared at me with this shocked expression on his face. Suddenly I felt a different pair of arms around my waist as Naomi pulled me away from him and onto her lap. I forgot all of my annoyance with her and smiled as she softly kissed the back of my neck, making me shiver.

"Never fucking again, Ems." She whispered simply, and I couldn't tell if it was an apology, a demand or both.

"So Red, want to take this out back?" Cook offered, smiling seductively.

"Tough luck, Cookie. She's mine." Naomi growled, and I knew she was hitting him with her Ice Queen stare. Cook held his hands up in defeat but there was something in his eyes I couldn't quite place.


	3. Chapter 3

I stared down at the empty shot glasses in front of me and tried to count them, but each time I got above five the room started spinning. I tugged Emily's sleeve until she turned to face me with those gorgeous brown eyes. I realized I had interrupted her conversation but this was important, maybe not sober important but direly drunk important. Cook rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed but didn't say anything.

"Emsy, how many?" I asked, pointing at the empty little glasses. She giggled and dropped them one by one into one of my empty pints.

"That'd be eleven, babe. And three beers" Emily answered after finishing her tower, now eyeing me warily. "You alright?" I nodded my head vigorously, getting a little dizzy but feeling euphoric.

"Fantastic Ems!" I announced, grinning widely. She returned my smile and I turned to the rest of the group. Freddie and Effy kept having what looked like a staring contest mixed with monkey in the middle, with Katie being the monkey, Thomas and Pandora were chatting amongst themselves animatedly, which even I had to admit was adorable, and Cook and JJ were vying for Emily's attention. However, her attention was locked on me, despite the MDMA Cook had given her.

"Just let me know when you want to leave." She whispered, her breath hot on my ear. I caught JJ staring and smiled smugly at him. He looked down into his Coke as if it had suddenly become incredibly interesting. I glanced at my watch and realized it was only half eleven.

"Eh, in a few. Still early." I reasoned and she nodded in agreement. "So Cook are we going to do _anything_ fun tonight or are we just going to sit around staring at each other?" I asked and he grinned.

"I heard there's a rave in the Caves tonight?" Effy offered, and Cook paled.

"Nah it's probably shit." He dismissed, trying to cover his fear.

"That wanker Johnny White can't fuck with us anymore, Cook. And I want to fucking party!" Katie groaned and he thought for a moment before throwing up his hands.

"You got it Katiekins. Let's go fucking mental!" He yelled and threw back the rest of the shots, drenching himself and spilling on JJ. As soon as we left the pub Katie frowned at us.

"Wait, we're walking?" She groaned and everyone shrugged and nodded their heads. She let out possibly the funniest moan/sigh/growl noise I had ever heard and took off her heels, making me crack the hell up. She smacked my arm way harder than I deserved. "Shut it Campbell." She warned with a glare as she passed me.

"Emily! Your sister _hit_ me." I complained and she pouted sympathetically.

"Poor baby, I'm sorry. Would you like me to kiss it?" She offered and I nodded pathetically, expecting a quick peck. She placed three slow, lingering kisses up my arm, sending shock waves through my body. Her warm lips felt like fire on my cold flesh and I immediately regretted agreeing to go to the club, but we were closer to the club than we were to either of our houses so we might as well. Emily smirked as I stared wide eyed at her, and as if she could read my mind, she stretched up on her tippy toes so she could whisper in my ear, but it looked like we were just embracing. "We'll stay for just a bit, and then I'm _all_ yours." The way her voice turned slightly huskier on the word all and the gentle kisses she placed on my neck made my knees weak.

"All mine?" I squeaked, barely finding my voice. I could feel her grin against my skin.

"Yes, Naomi. All yours." She placed one last kiss on my neck before grabbing my hand and pulling us on our way. I followed her like nothing else in the world mattered, and I guess in a way that was true.

The walk to the drain took about five minutes sober, but drunk it took fifteen. We stood around the drain and I knew we were all having flashbacks of that night in first year. Emily kissed me, I guess feeling sentimental. I linked our hands when she pulled away. Katie was the first one to speak up.

"You like giving hand, don't you Naomi?" Katie teased, and I grinned back. I still didn't like the bitch but there was a sort of playful rivalry now rather than downright hatred.

"For fuck's sake! She didn't kiss me okay?" Emily said seriously, playing along.

"Yes, she did! Practically jumped you!"

"I kissed her! I was drunk and... Someone gave me MDMA and I felt like fucking kissing someone! Satisfied?" Emily snapped, keeping a stolidly straight face before we all erupted into ridiculous laughter. I grabbed Emily and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"But that time, Katie, I did kiss her." I exclaimed and Emily smiled hugely.

"There was a time I never thought I'd hear those words." She chuckled and I felt a bit guilty inside knowing how sincerely she meant it.

"Alright, enough pissing reminiscing. I promised you's a party." Cook yelled, shaking his fists, and Freddie lifted the grate. I nearly killed myself on the climb down and Emily had to steady me.

"Careful!" She cautioned and took my hand protectively. It was practically impossible to get anywhere there were so many people. As per the usual though, the music was incredible and the sheer energy radiating from the crowd was intoxicating. The Caves were mint as long as you could find some seats, some space and some spliff. Luckily, between Katie's tits, Cook's glare, and Thomas' supply we managed to secure all three.

We managed to find a banquette, and Katie managed to find a bloke. With one gone, the rest of the group started to disperse.

"Panda's mother was expecting her some time ago. I must get her home." Thomas apologized while supporting a completely off her tits Pandora. "Here take the rest." He offered and tossed Effy a bag with at least half an ounce, and was gone with a wink. Effy started to roll and JJ watched the hypnotic motions closely. I turned to scan the crowd and saw Ashley approaching. I snapped my fingers at Freddie and his eyes widened, seeing her too. He hid behind his pint until she passed. Emily nudged me with her elbow.

"What was that?" She asked and I pointed to Freddie.

"Remember that infantile sexathon I told you about? Well, Freddie fucked her. She was not too pleased to hear that at least part of it was a game." I whispered and she nodded, smirking.

"Is that what this is Naomi?" She inquired dramatically. I nodded sadly.

"Yes, love. Sorry to say, but you're just another notch on my bedpost." I chuckled and kissed her nose. "No feelings." I kissed her cheek. "Totally meaningless." I lifted her chin and kissed her sweetly.

"I love you too, Naoms." She grinned, resting her forehead on mine before Katie interrupted, making her reappearance.

"Does anyone have a condom? Emily?" She asked and then rolled her eyes. "Shit never mind. Anyone?" She asked again and Cook pulled one practically out of thin air.

"Sorry Katiekins, only have extra large. Hope he fits the bill." He cocked his eyebrow with a smutty grin. She snatched it from his hand and sauntered off.

"She does know how to make an entrance." Effy quipped and I smirked. I really had missed her.

"Shame she doesn't understand how to make an exit. You're not supposed to come back." Cook cackled and I was kind of taken aback. I knew Cook wasn't Katie's biggest fan but I thought the boobs cancelled that out.

"Be nice, Cook." Emily reprimanded and he smiled innocently.

"Sorry Ems, it's the drugs." He explained and she rolled her eyes. "Care to dance muff monkey?" He offered and she nodded, standing up.

"Coming Naoms?" She asked and I grinned at Cook's slightly disappointed expression.

"Of course, darling." I chuckled and followed them into the mass. A giant of a guy accidentally knocked into Emily and had she not fallen against me she would've landed on her ass. Cook was in his face before I could react.

"Fucking tosser! What the fuck is your problem ya twat?" He yelled, shoving the guy. He shook his hands nervously, looking frighteningly like JJ.

"No no no really it was an accident I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" He asked, looking apologetically at Emily.

"I'm fine," She put a hand on Cook's shoulder and he relaxed. "Relax, Cook. Go ahead, sorry about him." She dismissed and the guy ran away. I grabbed her arm.

"Sure you're alright?" I asked and she smiled.

"Peachy." She assured and led me to the dance floor. It was perhaps one of my favorite things about Emily, the way she transformed when she danced. She would close her eyes and start to swing her head and suddenly like a flash she wasn't with us anymore. She was just moving, dancing with the melody, not a bunch of drunk teenagers. And what I loved just as much, when I reached out to touch her, her eyes would open again and she'd pull me into her and I would become a part of this magical thing she was experiencing. It felt like it was just us, Emily, the song and I, moving as one.

After who knows how long of dancing, however, I was dying of thirst.

"Fancy a drink, Ems?" I offered and she nodded happily. "I'll be right back." I assured and she kissed me before I left.

The bartender was a guy *cough total tosser* named Bruno who went to our school. I had no idea how he got this job seeing as he was seventeen but no one really cared, he gave Roundview kids cheaper drinks. I ordered myself a vodka tonic and got Emily her precious Jägerbomb. I downed my drink at the bar and stood on my toes to try to find my redhead in the crowd to no avail. I braced myself and raised Emily's glass high so that I could shove through the crowd. I heard Cook before I saw him, and decided to sneak up by hiding within the group next to them. Emily was dancing by herself and Cook behind her but not touching her... Yet.

"You know I meant to ask if you wanted to dance _with_ me not next to me, eh Red?" He asked, and Emily giggled. She seemed off, her eyes wider than usual and her movements languid.

"You're just trying to get in my pants, Cook." She stated and he got closer.

"Probably." He offered, wrapping his arm around her waist. He started to kiss her neck and I felt my blood start to boil. I emerged from my people-camouflage, totally and completely prepared to yell at them, but then Emily saw me. Her eyes brightened and just, God I'm going to sound like a twat, sparkled, and she got this ridiculously huge grin on her face.

"Naomi!" She screamed, practically jumping into my arms. I almost felt bad for Cook, he was too caught off guard to play it off and he just looked crushed, his mouth wide open and his fists balled. "I missed you. Cook!" She glanced and gestured at Cook. "Cook gave me this pill, and like, I think I'm underwater!" She exclaimed and I glared at Cook.

"What did you give her?" I asked, furious with him.

"Just some Ambien man, chillax." He shrugged, as if I hadn't just walked up as he was sucking my girlfriend's neck. I hoisted Emily up so she was standing but I could support her. Cook reached out to help.

"Back off, Cook" I muttered and he looked hurt.

"Just trying to help, Blondie." He said innocently and I shot him a look.

"Yeah, trying to help fuck my girlfriend, you ass." I rebuked and he threw up his arms and stormed off. I knew Cook well enough to know that was his way of trying to make me look like the crazy, overprotective girlfriend, but he obviously had feelings for Emily. As badly for him as I felt about that, I was far more pissed off. I turned to Emily. "Emsy, hon, are you okay?" I asked, and she smiled goofily at me, sticking up both thumbs.

"A-OK!" She shouted and I couldn't help but grin. "Is that for me?" She asked, pointing to the drink.

"It was, but I really you've had enough, babe." She stuck out her bottom lip and I resisted the urge to take it between my teeth.

"But I'm thirsty!" She whined and I reluctantly handed it over.

"Fine, but take it easy, yeah?" I warned, but of course, being Emily, she chugged it. I shook my head. "Naughty." I scolded, leading her to the bathrooms so I could sober her up at least a bit before I tried to take her home. She yanked on my hand when we were in an empty corridor.

"Hey Naomi." I turned to face her. "I want to kiss you now." She whispered and I realized where we were.

"Ah fuck it, go ahead and disappoint me." I chuckled, bringing up another famous quote. She pushed me up against the wall, her body pressed against me. I gasped, having expected just a peck, and she grinned mischievously. She knotted her fingers in my hair and kissed me hard, her tongue quickly finding mine. It always bewildered me how she could taste like liquor or sleep or even Salt and Vinegar and still have this delicious taste that was so incredibly her. My Emily, mine, she's mine I thought to myself, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her as close to me as I could. She pulled away to catch a breath and looked at me expectantly.

"Disappointed?" She asked cheekily.

"Not in the slightest." I assured breathlessly and she grinned. I remembered we were on a mission and led her to the Ladies.

"Why are we in here, Ms. Campbell?" She asked seductively and I shook my head, fighting a smile.

"No, no, no. Splash a little water on your face and then we're out of here." She pouted and I added "Then we'll go back to mine." She perked up at that, immediately heading to the sink. I grabbed a few paper towels and helped dry her off, smirking at the way her nose crinkled. It never ceased to amaze me how she looked one kind of beautiful with her makeup on and a whole other kind without it, but either way she looked so bloody gorgeous it made my insides go gooey.

As we left the bathroom I tried to find the others in the crowd but they were lost to us so I took Emily's hand and led us to the exit.

"Can you climb the ladder?" I asked and she quickly scurried up it. I stood shocked for a moment before I followed suit, surfacing to see her smug face at the top. "I didn't know munchkins were such good climbers." I teased and she playfully shoved my shoulder.

"Mean." She scolded and began to skip towards my house. I jogged after her and she shook her head disapprovingly. "Naomi this is a skipping journey, jogging is not allowed." She explained and I rolled my eyes but decided to indulge her, linking our arms. She was exhausted after only a few minutes of this so we slowed to a walk. "Skipping... Is... Hard." She wheezed.

"Yeah, well." I chuckled, also a bit breathless. We strolled silently for a while before I looked over to see her giggling to herself about something. "Huh?"

"I got you." She announced, holding our hands up for me to see.

"What?" I asked, a bit confused.

"You were supposedly unattainable, uninterested and straight but I got you." She clarified and I laughed. I thought about telling her everything, how from the very first moment we met she had me, but I didn't want to do that in the middle of the street at three in the morning when we were both off of our faces.

"That you did, Ems. That you did." I agreed and she held our hands up triumphantly.

"You love me, Naomi Campbell loves me, she loves me!" She shouted, getting louder and louder. Part of me wanted to shush her but it was just so cute and so surreal. I had always known Emily liked me, but to know now just how much she wanted me and how happy and proud she was to have me was quite possibly the sweetest thing in the world.

"I love her! I love Emily Fitch! I love you!" I screamed, matching her volume. Her entire face lit up and we just stood there, beaming at each other. "I fucking love you Emily." I whispered.

"I love you too, Naomi Campbell." She whispered even quieter. I held out my hand.

"Shall we to mine?" I asked and to hell with it, we skipped the rest of the way home.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't think I could ever tire of waking up next to Naomi, even with this head splitting of a hangover, my first thought when I woke up was:

"God you're so beautiful." I hadn't meant to say it aloud but it just slipped out. I was glad it did however because she broke out in a full grin. Naoms often woke up far before me but would keep her eyes closed, she called it half-sleeping.

"Well, good morning to you too." She greeted, blinking her eyes open. She reached over to the bedside table and handed me a glass of water and some aspirin. I took them thankfully.

"You're an angel." I whispered, swallowing the pills. She brushed my fringe to the side, it was getting longer and I decided I wouldn't cut my bangs again, just letting it grow out. The gesture made me incredibly sentimental. I turned to face her. "I love you." I murmured and she smiled delightedly.

"I love you too, Ems." She said, obviously a bit surprised by my comment. I reached down and grabbed her hand.

"But really, I just want you to know after last night and Cook and all of that, I really really love you and only you, yeah?" She stroked my face with the hand that wasn't laced with mine.

"I realize Cook is quite the temptation," I snorted but she continued to keep a straight face. "But please don't leave me, Emily." I could tell that the humor of the first part was supposed to hide the seriousness of the second, so I chuckled before leaning in.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." I kidded and kissed her. "I think last year proved that."

"The only thing last year proved was that I'm a twat." Naomi said sharply, her eyes downcast. I pulled her chin up.

"You were scared, and understandably so. I came on so strong and you weren't ready for it at first. But now we're here, and we're together and that's all that matters." I promised and her eyes bore into mine.

"I'll never understand you, Emily Fitch." She whispered, shaking her head slightly.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"You're so goddamned understanding and forgiving and I have no idea why you wanted me in the first place or why you thought I was worth chasing after or why you wanted to be with me or why you decided to keep me and-"

"Naomi, no. I always knew you were worth it. You're passionate and so clever and you always have been."

"I thought you were going to end it yesterday." She admitted and I grimaced at the idea.

"If you had been the one to kiss her it would have been different. I doubt I would have-no I take that back. I doubt I _could_ have broken up with you, but it definitely would've hurt, no... It would've destroyed me had you kissed her. But you didn't, she kissed you, and you ran away and came and told me as soon as it happened. I'm angry, of course but not at you." I explained as she traced patterns with her fingers across my arm. She looked up at me when I finished, her blue eyes burning into mine.

"I never want to hurt you, not again."

"So don't." I whispered with a shrug and she crashed our lips together rather dramatically, rolling on top of me in the process. I knotted my fingers in Naomi's now shoulder length hair and felt her hands slip under my top, her fingers deftly unclasping my bra and tossing it on the floor. Her cold hands left trails across my warm skin, and I shivered as they started to slide towards my knickers.

"Well good morning, ladies." A bizarrely calm voice stated, and Naomi groaned, rolling off of me to reveal Effy standing in her doorway. "Did you forget I was stopping by?"

"I didn't forget, I just erm... Lost track of the time." Naomi explained, her face reddening.

"Good morning, Em." Effy greeted, sitting down on the bed.

"Effy." I say simply, a little annoyed and very flustered.

"Usually I would excuse myself for, well you girls can be swift when you need to so say, five minutes so you could finish up here, but we have business to attend to." I resist the urge to pull the duvet over my head and hide until she leaves but Naomi laughs it off so I just hide my face in her neck.

"Business?" I ask and Effy smiles at me.

"We have a party to plan."

"A party?" Naomi asked incredulously. "It's going to take me all day just to recover from last night." She groaned, I laced our fingers together comfortingly. She grinned at me and Effy smiled at the exchange.

"Well, college starts Monday, Pandora has been bothering me about Italy and I kind of fucked up her last party, so I figured we'd have a girl's night."

"Despite the enjoyable events that took place there, I am _so_ not going to Pandora's house again, not after her mom's reaction the next morning." Naomi groaned. Her mom had awoken to a trashed house with a pounding headache, screaming and sending people out of her house like she was exorcising demons.

"Why not here?" Effy asked, glancing around the room as if she was taking inventory.

"Ugh I don't know Eff." Naomi moaned.

"Why not? Your mom is out, not like Gina would care anyway. You're really only adding Katie, Panda and I because Emily is here all the time anyway." I open my mouth to ask how she knew that and she smiles, holding a hand up. "Emily, you do know Naomi and I are friends right? And as her friend I have to listen when she talks, and when she talks, she talks about you." Naomi gets completely red and I know I'm grinning.

"She's kidding, Emily." Naomi lied and Effy chuckled.

"No, I'm not." Naomi shoots her a glare but she continues. "The boys will probably try to stop by but your doors have locks, I say this because I don't think you were aware of that considering I just let myself in, so we should be fine. I will take care of everything, you're just responsible for picking up a bit. And snacks." I must admit, Effy never ceases to impress me, she's a clever one.

"Fine." Naomi grumbles. "When is this party?" Effy looks at her watch.

"They'll be over at eight." I look over at Naomi's alarm clock. It was nearing twelve.

"Tonight? You've got to be shitting me! No way Effy." She protested but Effy was already on her way out.

"See you tonight." She said coolly, and Naomi didn't exhale until the front door closed. She turned to look at me.

"Fucking cock block and forced festivities rolled into one, Effy is." Naomi said, shaking her head. She had on her grouch face and her arms were crossed.

"Does somebody want some breakfast?" I asked, slightly patronizingly. She turned to give me a glare.

"We don't have any food." She muttered and I smiled. _We. _I stood up and rummaged on the floor for clothes. Once I have at least a bra and semi-suitable clothes on I kissed her on the cheek. "Where are you going?" She asked, now pouting.

"To get me clothes, to get snacks for the party and to get you breakfast." I explained.

"Nooo don't leave." She whined and I smiled.

"You know you're welcome to join me." I offered and she pondered it for a minute.

"Do I have to actually go inside your house?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." I said enticingly and she grinned.

"Fine." She agreed and pulled on clothes of her own. I wandered downstairs while I waited for her to get ready and grabbed my keys. The moped had been a consolation gift from my dad. He felt horrible about the way my mum reacted to the whole gay bit, and gave it to me (with the _and Naomi_ implied) soon after we returned from holiday.

"Ready?" I called just as Naomi started walking down the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She fussed, smirking at me. She locked the door behind us just in case anyone else wanted to make a surprise visit. I took my seat at the front of the moped and she wrapped her arms around me. I will say I was very glad I didn't have to walk anytime I wanted to go to Naomi's house, this was far faster and a lot less effort. The moped didn't use much petrol either so it was cheaper than a taxi too. It only took a bit less than ten minutes to get to my house with Naomi, and it took even less without her, mainly because she scolded me if I started to go too fast. I know she'd freak out if she knew how maniacally I drive it alone.

"I'll just be a minute, alright?" I promise, kissing her lightly outside my house. She grinned, leaning cutely against the side.

"I'll be waiting." That made me practically sprint up to my room as soon as I closed the front door.

"Emily!" I heard my mum call but I pretended I didn't hear her. Katie was still unconscious when I got to our room. I switched bras and grabbed a clean pair of knickers before pulling on a white V-neck with a blue skirt. I grabbed a pair of cute pajamas for the party and scanned the room for anything else.

"Those shoes don't match." Katie grumbled tiredly and I glanced down, immediately kicking off the green flats I had on and slipping on a pair of vans.

"Right. You're coming tonight, yeah?" I asked and she nodded sleepily. I jogged to the bathroom and speedily brushed my teeth and did my hair and makeup before going downstairs. James and my dad were on the sofa watching a rugby match.

"There's my girl!" My dad greeted, wrapping me in a Fitch hug.

"Why doesn't Naomi come inside?" James asked, eyeing her through the window.

"Because she's scared of Mum." I explain and he chuckles.

"Emily come here please!" She calls and I give James a knowing glance.

"Speak of the devil." I mumble, eliciting a huge laugh from James and a stifled one from my dad. I walked into the kitchen and she gave me a fake smile as she fixed breakfast.

"I feel like I never see you anymore." She complained and I shrugged.

"I'm sorry, it's just with-"

"Naomi..." She said, the distaste in her voice evident.

"I wish you wouldn't act like she's a temptress, Mum." I explained and she rolled her eyes.

"Don't be overdramatic Emily, I like Naomi. I just think this _thing_ has gone far enough."

"I'm gay. She's my girlfriend. There's no _thing_, it's a committed relationship. We love each other and that's that." I explained and she dropped the knife she was using.

"Love? You don't know what love is, Emily." She said, glaring at me.

"This would be different if I had a boyfriend though, huh?" I asked, trying to keep your voice down.

"Of course it would, you're not," She gritted her teeth. "A _lesbian_ Emily. We're not those kind of people."

"Maybe I don't want to be a part of your 'we,' Mum." I snapped and she clenched her fists.

"I don't want you spending anymore time with her, do you understand?" She asked, and I could hear the pleading in her voice.

"I understand, but no. I love her. I want to be with her. You can't change that." I informed her and stormed out.

"You look lovely." Naomi greeted, then looked at me worriedly as I wiped the tears away. "Are you okay love?" She asked and I shook my head, sobbing into her shoulder.

"I hate her." I repeated it at least ten times, using the words like a mantra. Naomi stroked my back soothingly.

"She'll come around eventually." I looked up at her, doubtful. "And maybe she won't, whatever. We just won't invite her to the wedding." She kidded but it brought a humongous grin to my face. "Do you want me to drive?" She offered and I nodded, wrapping my arms around her back and inhaling her scent. "To the grocery!" She announced in that geeky way of hers and I chuckled into her back. Ironically, it was on the same street that I sat on crying earlier this year, when JJ comforted me. I chuckled to myself as we got off the moped. "We haven't been to that club in forever."

"Such a weird night." I muttered, shaking my head.

"What, why?" She asked, grabbing a basket. "Er Ems should I grab a trolley?" I nodded and she switched them. "Anyway, sorry, what we're you saying?"

"Well I had spent that entire day with Jay. I went to counseling that morning-"

"Counseling? What for?" She asked, obviously concerned.

"I just, I wanted to be honest with people, and myself and Katie and, well,"

"Me?" She asked, the guilt evident. I shrugged it off.

"I guess. Anyway, I ran into JJ there and we went to this grassy hill and had this great talk. I know you don't like JJ very much but we just bonded over our 'doormat' status to put it in Effy's words. I've spent my entire life trying to please or calm Katie, and he's done the same with Freddie and Cook." I paused to take a breath. "We're going to need those." I mentioned, pointing to a bag of Twiglets. "They're Katie's favorite." She tossed them in the cart along with a bag of Chipsticks.

"Effy loves 'em." Naomi chuckled. "Go on."

"Right, yeah. We went to Freddie's so he could give him a piece of his mind, and he was shagging my sister. JJ practically yelled that I was gay when Katie suggested we have sex and so I ran out, found a bottle of vodka and decided to get as fucked as possible."

"You forgot something." She uttered and I looked over. "You called me crying, and I told you I was busy, you said you really needed to see me and I said it wasn't a good time, that we could talk that night. I said you could come over afterwards, we could talk at mine. I didn't want to talk at the club, because I was scared people would see us." Her face was impossible to read. I snuggled under her arm and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Yeah, you did, you were. But you can't keep blaming yourself for what you did, or didn't do, out of fear." I comforted, stroking her arm.

"I was horrible to you, Emily." Was all she said, still looking straight ahead, occasionally tossing things in the trolley. I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say. "See! You can't even tell me I wasn't, and if you did you'd be lying." I grinned up at her, catching her off guard.

"You were a total twat." I agreed and she stared at me dumbfounded. "But you'll just have to make it up to me, yeah?" I offered, kissing her chastely before walking briskly down the aisle. It took a few seconds before I heard the creaking of wheels.

"Have I told you lately how incredibly in love with you I am?" She asked, a little breathlessly.

"Probably." I chuckled, linking our hands. "What would you like for breakfast?" I asked, and she dropped the Garibaldis in the cart with a mischievous grin.

"You have an addiction." I chuckled and she pulled me into her by my shirt.

"I thought you'd never notice." She whispered flirtatiously, kissing me on the lips, wrapping her arms around my waist. "It's really becoming a problem," Another kiss. "I'd do anything," Her tongue traced my bottom lip. "To get my fix." She breathed each line against mylips and I'm surprised I didn't completely melt. Then of course she carried on like nothing had happened.

"Fucking tease." I muttered and she winked. We split the bill, despite her insisting to pay, and went back to hers. I immediately went into the kitchen and started making breakfast, even though she claimed she was fine with her Garibaldis. The way she dug into the eggs obviously contradicted that.

Once we were full and had all of our shopping done we collapsed on the couch.

"I don't want to clean." She grumbled, and I shifted so my head was in her lap. I poked the soft spot under her chin, where I knew she was ticklish.

"We have time. There's nothing wrong with a little post shopping, pre cleaning break." I reasoned and she grinned, closing her eyes. I was about to drift off into a mini nap when she nudged me.

"So?" She asked. "Never finished your story." I nodded in comprehension. "So you got really fucked up."

"Right, so, I got fucked up." I chuckled and she shook her head, slightly amused. "And I got to the club crazy early, so I was already there as the floor filled up. And Superheroes started performing and I just went mental. I don't remember much, but Cook came up and was his usual handsy self-"

"Define handsy." She requested and I know I turned crimson.

"Uh. There was groping." I mumbled awkwardly. "He like basically snogged my neck." She gritted her teeth. "And then Katie ran up and yanked me away, then screamed at me and I ran out."

"I saw you leave, I should've followed you." She said, shaking her head.

"I was alright, I just sat outside on that curb for a while."

"Crying." She added.

"Yeah."

"Then what?" She asked.

"Why are you so curious?" I asked, a bit surprised. We had done this before, compared our nights to find out what the other person had been doing when important things were happening, but she seemed oddly intrigued.

"I want to know what my dilatoriness affected." She explained and I stared at the floor. "Go on, hit me."

"Well, JJ came out to comfort me, and said I could spend the night at his if I wanted to avoid Katie." The realization spread across Naomi's face.

"Holy shit. Holy shit. _That_ was the night you two shagged? What the fuck? You were supposed to come to mine that night. Fucking hell..." She groaned and I was a bit scared that she was going to be angry, so I sat up.

"Look I know, I know. I shouldn't have left without telling you where I was going and it wasn't fair and-"

"Emily do you really think I'm upset that you ditched our plans?" She asked, her face the epitome of disappointment. I shrugged. "I'm upset because maybe if I hadn't been such a cunt and followed you out, you wouldn't have gone home with JJ, and if you hadn't gone home with JJ, well..." She explained, faltering.

"I wouldn't have slept with him." She looked down at me, and I realized she wasn't disappointed in me, but there was something else.

"It's more than that though, Ems." She murmured, hesitantly fixing my hair. It was always the sweetest gesture with her. She was always slightly awkward about it, because it was such a cliche move, but I knew when she did it that she was being sincere in whatever she was telling me.

"What then?" I asked, slightly concerned at the serious turn in the conversation. She looked down at her hands and a blush creeped over her cheeks.

"I... I just, ugh this is going to sound so awkward." She groaned, looking over at me reluctantly.

"What?" I asked again, more forcefully but also less seriously, hoping it'd help. She smiled and reached over, grabbing my hand. She stared at it as she obviously fought to find the right way to phrase it. Finally she sighed and looked at me earnestly.

"I wish you had lost your virginity to me." She stated, her eyes searching mine for a reaction. I was most definitely not expecting that.

"Naomi, did you forget the lake? That was the first time-"

"No... I mean... Yeah but like... No, no. You did it to me, but I didn't _do_ anything back... If that makes sense... JJ was the first person that..." She made an awkward hand motion towards my minge. "Had sex with you." She said, her face incredibly red and then she turned serious again. "And no matter what your reasoning behind having sex with him was, he was the first person who got to know you in that way, and it could have, no it should have been me and that tears me up inside." She explained.

"Well, it's not like I was your first." I said defensively, mistaking her regret for blame. She opened her mouth and I knew it was the gunshot that would've started a fight but instead she stopped and took a breath, giving me a pointed glance.

"No. You weren't." She stated simply. "But you were, are, the only one that has ever meant anything to me."

"Tell me about your first time." I requested and she reddened.

"Why?" She asked, bewildered.

"Because I'm curious." I said with a shrug. "And you've interrogated me about JJ a dozen times and you always make comments to JJ about it when you're drunk. So I want to know." She took a breath and rolled her eyes.

"It was just this guy, Ben, who lived with us for a bit. He was well older, and I guess that drew me in. My mom was out and he came upstairs to hang out and we had drunkenly snogged once before but I was, I don't know I felt stupid and angry and I thought why the hell not and kind of jumped him. Turns out dear Ben suffers from persistent erectile dysfunction which was just _so _great. But yeah, that's all there is to tell really."

"When?" I asked, trying not to picture Naomi having sex with someone else.

"The summer going into college." She said, not meeting my eyes.

"When over summer?" I pressed.

"A few days after that uh, that ridiculous party at Sarah's." She said, feigning nonchalance.

"As in a few days after we had first kissed?" I clarified and she glared at me.

"I suppose."

"Naomi did...?" I asked, leaving it to interpretation.

"Did I fuck some guy because I was confused?" She asked harshly and I looked down, hating when she went Ice Queen on me. "Maybe I did. I don't really know." She shrugged, calming down. "At the time I was just doing a guy. It didn't seem like a big deal, I remember I thought HA if Emily hears about this and now people can't say I'm a dyke and, well, honestly, I never thought I'd be sitting in my living room with you cuddled into my side on a sunny Saturday afternoon, with half your closet on the floor of my room and at least a hundred of your goddamned little bows strewn about, talking about this." She explained and I moved so I was sitting in her lap.

"I'm glad we are." I admitted and she pulled me closer. "Anything else you'd like to share or ask about in regard to past sexual encounters?" I asked, a bit tired of the subject. She laughed mischievously and rearranged me so I was straddling her.

"I do have one question." She whispered, kissing my neck.

"Yes?" I asked breathlessly.

"Am I better than JJ?" She asked cheekily, and I ran my fingers down her chest to rest at the hem of her shirt. I tugged it over her head before removing my own.

"I don't know, are you?" I asked and she grinned wickedly.

"I think I might be."

"Prove it." I challenged and prove it she did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for the reviews/follows/favorites, you're all incredibly sweet! To explain a few things: Firstly, yes this story is not so much based, but certainly influenced by the Alex Turner song! I applaud your taste! Anyone who has not heard it, I will post the lyrics on a later chapter (foreshadowing?) Secondly, there have been a few people who thought Emily's reaction to Sophia kissing Naomi was unrealistic and to a degree, I must agree, but it IS Emily Fitch we're talking about; the one who roamed the streets of Paris searching for Katie, who (though of course the event I'm about to cite will not ****_necessarily_**** occur in this fic) forgave Naomi every time she ran away and for cheating on her at the end of series 4. We can't all be so magnanimous. Speaking of magnanimous, next I'd like to apologize to those of you who want to murder Cook right now, but again IT'S EMILY FITCH WE'RE TALKING ABOUT and other than a brief apology I can say nothing more about what I intend to do with that or if they will "do the deed" as it was put by a reviewer. Finally! I have not completely decided if I want to take on their ENTIRE second year at college but I promise I do have every intention of continuing with this. Enjoy!**

"We should be cleaning." Emily stated, but made no move to stop kissing me.

"You're right." I agreed.

"And we have to get ready."

"Mhm"

"Mmm," She moaned as I kissed her neck. Suddenly there was a loud buzzing noise and she groaned as she picked her phone up off the coffee table.

"Oh hey Katie." I faintly heard Katie say 'Speaker' and Emily set her phone down on my chest. I was cracking up at the fact that we were talking to Katie while Emily was straddling me, seemed a bit ironic, you know?

"This is your official we-will-be-there-in-two-hours-so-stop-shagging-and -get-ready-call. So hop to it." And the line went dead.

"See! She can be brief." Emily chuckled and I couldn't help but pull her down to kiss me again. She kissed me back but then pulled away, trying to harness her self control. I leaned in to kiss her again but she pushed me back down onto the sofa. "Naomi," She smirked before completely sitting up, staring down at me with her hands on her hips.

"Emily." I said, matching her tone, it was impossible to think too clearly.

"We need to get clean. They'll be here in like two hours." She reasoned and I pouted. She made a move to stand up but I grabbed her hips, keeping her on top of me. "Naomi!" She scolded, but I could tell she wasn't actually mad at me. "I thought I was supposed to be the sex-crazed teenage boy and you were supposed to be the reasonable one!" She reminded me and I grinned.

"You want reason?" I asked and she nodded challengingly. "Well, we have to clean and we have to get ready... So what if we clean, but we save the shower for last?" I offered and she nodded happily.

"Oh how I love the way you think, Ms. Campbell." She said with a smile and my heart leapt at the way she said my name, before she quickly leant in and kissed me, sliding off of me in the process. She was already on her way out of the living room when I opened my eyes.

"And how I loathe the way you tease, Ms. Fitch." She blew me a kiss as she turned the corner.

There were always these little moments when I'd realize how much I love Emily. Like we would be watching TV and I would look over and grin because such a simple, mindless act was made beautiful simply by her being there. Truth be told, I hate cleaning. I really hate it. But with Emily, I didn't, I couldn't. She was too damn adorable in Gina's apron and yellow gloves to have anything against the act.

"Oi Campbell!" She called, snapping me out of the reverie. "No work, no shower." She threatened and I immediately got back to picking up the living room. Once I'd finished up I moseyed into the kitchen to see if she needed any help but I hid behind the door frame. She had been playing music for some time but I didn't realize she had been singing along.

"My eyes are no good, blind without her. The way she moves I never doubt her and when she talks she somehow creeps into my dreams." I grinned, stifling a laugh at her song choice. She had a thing for American alternative music. "She's a doll, a catch, a winner, I'm in love and no beginner could ever grasp or understand just what she means." And I couldn't help but laugh as she belted out the chorus. I expected her to stop singing but instead she serenaded me. "Baby, baby blue eyes stay with me by my side until the morning, through the night." She pulled me in so we were dancing, with my arms wrapped around her waist. "Well baby, stand here holding my sides. Close your baby blue eyes, every moment feels right. And I may feel like a fool but I'm the only one dancing with you." She crooned, kissing my cheek before spinning out and singing along to the 'Oh's" and doing this adorable dance.

"Naomi darling can you check on the cake?" She requested, and I decided to play along with her game. Occasionally she liked to play 1960's American housewife, sue her. No, scratch that, sue us.

"It'd be an honor, dear. It sure looks swell!" I exclaimed and she giggled. "The kids are going to love it!"

"Really? Do you mean it?" She asked, resting her chin on her hands. I put one hand on my hip and gestured between her and the cake.

"The two most beautiful things in the world are sitting right here in my kitchen." I boasted and she grinned, jumping into my arms.

"Are we about done here Mrs. Campbell?" I asked and I could tell I caught her off guard. I mistook her surprise for apprehension. "Too much?"

"I quite like the sound of that." She stuttered, her eyes glistening.

"Mrs and Mrs Campbell." I said aloud, spinning her out and she grinned. "Not too bad, huh?"

"We're just killing it on the couple names! Naomily and now Mrs and Mrs Campbell. It just doesn't seem fair." She said, faking pity, and I chuckled, remembering the drunken night that Pandora came up with our nickname.

"They'll all just have to deal with our couple superiority. We're simply better than them." I reasoned, shrugging my shoulders as we continued our dance around the kitchen; me trying to get close enough to touch her while she stayed just centimeters from my hands.

"Who is this vaguely antagonistic them, exactly?" She asked, chuckling at my impassioned statement. I quickly lunged forward and seized her in my arms, lifting her in a hug.

"Why, everyone else in the world, Emily Fitch. It's just you and me!" I grinned, twirling us around.

"We have _got_ to stop watching American Classics." She announced once I had set her down and we made our way upstairs.

"Franky, my dear, I don't give a damn." I stated, quoting Gone With the Wind.

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She specifically loved The Graduate.

"Well you did promise me a shower." I mentioned and she shoved my shoulder.

"And I'M the sex crazed teenager, Jesus!" She chuckled, pushing me into the bathroom and turning on the water.

"You're whatever you'd like to be, love." I said sweetly and she kissed me gently, pushing me up against the counter. "What would you like to be?" I asked against her lips.

"Yours." She whispered, shedding her shirt and relieving me of my own.

"That could be arranged." I chuckled, kissing her neck.

"Mmm?" She mumbled, she had a knack of becoming inarticulate when I kissed her neck.

"Why, yes. Because I'm yours." I muttered.

"You know you're quite the cliche at times too, Naoms." She laughed, reminding me of the morning she met my mum.

"Am I a nice cliche?" I asked, and she nodded happily.

"The nicest."

After the shower I stood in front of my closet trying to find suitable pajamas. I didn't exactly wear pajamas to begin with, and as of recent Emily had served that purpose, so I really had no need for them. Emily on the other hand had packed an adorable pair of red linen shorts that were short enough to give me not so adorable thoughts and a white V-neck. She was laying on my bed in just a bra and knickers which was certainly not helping the process. After several minutes of careful deliberation I decided on my oversized pig shirt and some sweats. I got dressed and began picking up the clothes on the floor, oddly pleased that more of it seemed to be Emily's than mine.

"Hullo!" A voice suddenly yelled just as I knelt down to pick up a shirt and making me fall on my ass. I watched as a blur of pink barged into our room. Pandora was wearing the pajamas her mum had made for her party and Effy followed quietly behind her, in a black singlet and white shorts. "Katie's gonna come laters, something about she cancelled on her boyfriend and he went completely tickety-flippin-boo." She hollered and then I suppose registered that Emily was not exactly clothed. "Oh sorry Ems!" She shrugged and sat right on the ground.

"I always though Katie had bigger tits but I stand corrected." Effy announced, and I might have just been paranoid but I think she was more perving than observing.

"Thanks I suppose. Mind handing me my shirt?" Emily asked and Effy tossed her the garment that had been draped over my record collection.

"Shame." She joked before turning to me. "You did a nice job downstairs, I'm so proud." I rolled my eyes.

"It was all Emily." I admitted and Effy did a small golf clap.

"I figured." She chuckled.

"So what's on the agenda for the evening?" I asked and Effy beckoned for me to follow her downstairs. Pandora and Emily soon followed, Emily having put on her shorts. There were several large bags on the kitchen table and Effy began to pull things out of it. She had brought three bottles of vodka, Twister, and the makings for what I assumed was dinner in the final bag which she claimed:

"That one is for later."

"You know my views on nuclear energy, Stonem." I warned jokingly and she waved her hand dismissively.

"You and your morals." She chided before bringing a fag to her lips.

"The party can officially begin!" A voice yelled and in stalked the pesky peacock, Katie Fitch. She hugged Emily, which surprised her a little bit but she melted into the embrace quickly. It was the strangest thing to see them hugging, most of the time I forgot they were twins but when they hugged it was so obvious. Katie whispered something to Emily and she grinned hugely, talking animatedly but very hushed. I made a mental note to ask her about it. "So bitches, what are we up to?" She asked after a few minutes.

"We got lots of booze and twister!" Pandora bellowed and I added:

"And a mysterious bag of wonder!"

"Do we know what is in the bag?" Katie asked.

"No, our only lead is that it is not a nuclear energy generator." Emily chuckled and I grinned.

"Well as long as it's not a nuclear energy generator." Katie huffed mockingly, plopping down on the couch.

"Shots or beverages?" She asked from the kitchen and we unanimously agreed to start with the wine Katie had bought. I brought out the snacks Emily and I had purchased and Effy and Katie did their best to hide their excitement. Soon we were all lounging in the living room. I eyed Effy as she grabbed the vodka bottle.

"Special occasion." Effy muttered as she added vodka to her wine.

"Never enough alcohol content." Emily agreed, following suit and clinking their glasses. I decided to take it easy, still feeling the effects of last night.

"So Effy, tell us about Italy!" Pandora demanded, her impatience finally reaching its peak. Effy took a long sip of wine.

"It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was beautiful." She said vaguely and Katie was giving her a look I didn't quite understand.

"Tell us about the boys!" Pandora asked and Effy looked down hesitantly. "Woah Eff are you like Naoms and Emily now?" She asked loudly and Emily nearly choked on her wine.

"Funny you'd say that Panda." She chuckled but quickly continued. "There was this guy Aldo, much older, but so fucking gorgeous. Anyway, he ended up fucking my mum so it didn't really work out. I shagged a few randoms but no no one special."

"So you're not a lesbian now?" Pandora asked, looking slightly disappointed. Effy smiled mysteriously.

"Not necessarily."

"Necessarily?" I asked.

"Boys are just such fucking pussies, I'm admittedly curious if it'd be better with a girl." She mused and Emily snuggled into my side.

"Wouldn't you miss like, cock?" Katie asked, seeming more than a little horrified.

"I can't imagine it would be that different."

"Oh it's extremely different Effy." I interrupted. "It's much better." Effy smirked.

"And you're bi, right Naomi?" Katie asked, obviously trying to start something. Emily stiffened beside me. This was still a sore topic.

"Um... I'm in love with Emily. If that makes me gay then sure." I shrugged, still not really wanting to consign myself to the whole gay thing. My answer seemed to please Emily however so I saw that as a mini victory. Naomi: 1 Katie Fitch: 0.

"What about Cook and Freddie?" Pandora asked, deciding to be the one to touch on the elephant in the room.

"What about them?" Effy shrugged, blowing a ring of smoke in the air.

"You don't want them anymore?" Katie asked, and I sensed a little bit of anger in her voice.

"I'm tired of it. The lust for Cook and the love for Freddie, the not being able to decide. I want them both, but I can't do it anymore."

"Don't you think you could have realized that before fucking everything up?" Katie asked bitterly and Emily grabbed Effy's hand.

"Katie!" She scolded.

"What it's true? Cook is completely off the rails, Freddie is like totally depressed and JJ gets locked on all the time. Nothing is the same anymore." Emily shook her head as Katie spoke and Effy's brave face slowly melted off. She was on the verge of tears by the time Emily led her out of the room. I sat awkwardly for a moment.

"I'm going to make sure they're alright." I suggested before tiptoeing to the kitchen, I hid behind the counter so I could still see them.

"I understand what you mean Effy." Emily comforted, her arm around the brunette. Effy was smoking a cigarette and the smoke swirled around their heads in the thick evening air.

"You do?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, I mean I spent all of last year chasing after Naomi. I let her kick me around and reject me and make me feel worthless, but there were these brief moments where I saw the slightest flicker of something. We kissed at Pandora's party and we went to Keith's together and it was just, it seemed so right, but then suddenly she'd go right back to acting like I was a nuisance. And then we had sex for the first time and it was like everything I had waited for fell into place. And then she left. And I chocked that up to fear. But then when I left college I heard Cook bragging about their hookup to a bunch of tossers and I fell apart, I went home and just sobbed. I lied to my mum and said I was sick so I didn't have to go out to dinner with everyone else, and she didn't even offer to stay home to take care of me. She just left me sobbing in my room. I had never felt so lonely, so just, alone." She explained and I felt my heart break with every word.

"Did you, I mean, did you think about ending it?"

"I mean it wasn't like there was anything to end with her-" Emily saw the determined look in Effy's eyes. "Oh you mean, like off myself?" She asked and Effy nodded slowly, blowing out smoke. "I suppose, but not exactly. I kind of felt dead to the world, like I didn't really matter to anybody. I remember thinking that it wouldn't matter if I did, so what would be the use?" She stated, taking a fag from Effy.

"Naomi showed up at your house though, right?" She asked and Emily nodded.

"Yeah." A faint smile came to her lips before slipping away. "But it didn't change anything."

"So you fucked JJ."

"As much as I would like to say that had nothing to do with her and I, I suppose it did in hindsight. I kind of fantasized about telling her, I was terrified that she would be mad but even more so that she wouldn't care, so I kept schtum. And she tried to end things and I ended things and then she showed up at the Love Ball and I just admitted how I felt and that gave her the courage to do what she had to do." Emily explained.

"I don't know how you forgave her." Effy stated, it wasn't a challenge or a reprimand, just an opinion.

"I didn't have to. I mean, it kind of feels like we're different people now."

"She hates herself for it." Emily nodded sadly.

"Yeah."

"She kind of should. You kind of should."

"Why do you say that?" Emily asked, stubbing out the fag.

"I just think you have to feel what you feel, even if it hurts."

"We've talked about things and things are different now. I forgave her, and I probably always will, no matter what she does." Effy stared at her, enchanted.

"You really love her, don't you?" Emily grinned, a fag hanging from her lips.

"I really do."

"How is it, the love?"

"It's... There's this one Sylvia Plath quote where she says: If the moon smiled, she would resemble you. You leave the same impression of something beautiful, but annihilating. That's love, I guess. You either feel like you're overflowing or you're empty. It's beautiful and I'm so happy but there's so much struggle, too. I have to dodge her moods like they're fucking land mines some days and we're never really going to get over that first year of indecision and pain and denial, but we're here now and I love her and I can't imagine not being with her. I love her so much that it physically hurts sometimes." I teared up as Emily finished her little speech.

"Hm." Effy stood up, extending her hand to Emily. "You're pretty special, Emily Fitch."

"As are you, Eff." Emily said with a grin and Effy smirked. I managed to run to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed something to look like I was just refilling on supplies.

"Oh hey, finish the first bottle?" Effy asked, and I stared at her stupidly before realizing I had grabbed a bottle of vodka.

"About." I muttered and handed the bottle to Effy who skipped merrily into the other room. Emily shuffled over to me, her arms snaking around my wrist. "You're cold." I mumbled into her hair as her cold skin brushed against the exposed skin of my back.

"Sorry." She said, and began to pull away, but I pulled her tighter. She chuckled into my chest. "You were listening, weren't you?" She asked and I pulled back to look at her. A small smirk was playing on her lips.

"I was not!"

"So I'm to assume you, Katie and Pandora magically drank three fourths a bottle of vodka in our absence?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. I _heard_ a little bit but I was not _listening_." I lied and she looked at me expectantly.

"Really?" She stared at me for a few seconds.

"No." I sighed and she chuckled her adorable laugh.

"Knew it."

"Look I know you hate it when I apologize but I am sorry." I said weakly, I hated saying sorry so much but I knew I could never really be forgiven and so I felt like I had to keep trying.

"And I am in love with you." She shrugged, kissing me sweetly. I was overcome with how much I needed her and quickly deepened the kiss.

"I love you too. So fucking much." I mumbled against her lips, backing us away from the view of our friends.

"Oi lezzers!" Katie shouted from the other room.

"Busy!" I yelled, lifting her up onto the counter. Her legs quickly wrapped around my waist and I knotted my hands in her hair.

"Are you snoggin'?" Panda asked.

"Campbell get the fuck off of my sister!" Katie yelled.

"Ignore them." I begged and she chuckled against my kiss. I ran my hand down the length of her body, resting it on her thigh before finding the small of her back and pulling her impossibly closer.

"Damn." A voice interjected, Emily jumped and I heard a quite thud. I turned to see Effy leaning against the doorway. "I was sent to survey the situation. But I see you two are still, uh, covered." She kidded.

"Shit!" Emily cursed, holding her head.

"What happened?" I asked, now in protective mode.

"Ah fuck I hit my head on the cupboard." She groaned and I gently tilted her head so I could check the damage. I ran my hand across until she whimpered. I removed my hand and there was a little bit of blood.

"Ems, you're bleeding." I informed, my voice shaking a bit.

"It doesn't hurt that bad I just hit the corner."

"Emily you could have a concussion." I said seriously and she chuckled, kissing my nose.

"You're cute when you're worried." She giggled and I shook my head.

"How many fingers?" I held up three and she mirrored the action.

"Three." She answered. I thought for a moment while Effy got her a wet towel to put on her head.

"I don't want you to drink anymore tonight and please tell me if you feel even a little bit funny." I requested and she gave me an annoyed glance.

"I'm fine!" She groaned, hopping off of the counter. She took a few steps before turning back to face me. She seemed to look me over before sighing. She closed the distance between us and kissed me on the cheek. "Fine. No drinking, I'll tell you if I feel funny." She assured and I relaxed.

"Thank you." I murmured, kissing the side of her head as I wrapped an arm around her.

"You two really are adorable." Effy observed, following us back into the living room. Emily blushed and I grinned.

"What the fuck Emily?" Katie asked, noticing the blood stained white towel she was holding to her head.

"Effy walked into the kitchen and it surprised me, I hit the cupboard." She explained, leaving out the heated make out session. Katie immediately rushed over to the couch.

"Are you okay? Jesus you clumsy cow." Katie complained, but I heard the worry in her voice.

"Totally fine. Naomi isn't letting me drink tonight though." Katie nodded her approval and we made eye contact.

"Good." She muttered before taking her seat next to Pandora.

"Do you think you have a concubine?" Pandora asked and we all erupted in laughter.

"You mean a concussion, Panda." Effy corrected and Pandora turned bright red.

"I can assure you I don't have a concubine, Panda." Emily joked and snuggled into my side.

"Well I'm glad to hear you don't have a mistress, Ems." Effy teased. A loud noise interrupted to silence.

"Don't I count?" Cook hollered, having snuck in through the window. JJ landed with a thud soon after, followed by Freddie and Thomas through the front door.

"You bastards did not receive an invite!" Katie scolded.

"They made me come." Thomas apologized, taking a seat next to Panda.

"Fuck invitations!" Cook yelled and JJ shook his fists alongside him. Freddie quietly took a seat beside Effy but kept his distance. "Let's fucking party!" After the excitement of their entrance died down and everyone had a beverage and a spliff thanks to Thomas, Pandora chirped up.

"Effy's gonna be a lesbian!" Freddie practically choked on his beer.

"Pardon? That seems entirely imp-p-plausible." JJ asked, sputtering.

"Effy wants to try it with a girl and see if it won't be so bloody complicated." Pandora explained.

"So have you?" Cook asked, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"What?" Effy asked.

"Tried it with a girl?" He grinned smuttily and Katie threw a pillow at him.

"No." Effy stated, but I heard a hint of... Dissatisfaction perhaps?

"Well why not?" He asked, thrilled that the topic interested him.

"Bristol isn't exactly crawling with lesbians now is it Cook?" Katie interjected and he burst out laughing.

"Well that's just bollocks! Emilio and Naomikins are right here!" He hollered, cracking up.

"They're both taken, and incidentally by each other." JJ explained and Cook shrugged.

"It's just a little harmless experimentin', I don't see what's wrong with that." Cook said innocently.

"I suppose it's not cheating unless it's purposefully devious." JJ agreed and Cook guffawed.

"So you're just a pussy!" He yelled.

"I'm not a pussy, you're just a twat." Effy corrected.

"You like twats don't you Eff?" He quipped and Effy rolled her eyes.

"Shut up, Cook." Freddie grunted and Effy's eyes blazed.

"Stay out of it." She snapped and he grimaced.

"Sorry, I mean it kind of is my business."

"How the fuck is it your business?" Effy asked furiously. Freddie blinked several times before his expression turned harsh.

"Because I loved you." He admitted and she shook her head.

"Yeah? Well then you fucked off with Cook so it doesn't really matter." She said emotionlessly. That shut Freddie up.

"I still don't think Freds is worth becoming a dyke over." Cook shrugged.

Suddenly, Effy quickly crossed the room, grabbed Emily and kissed her hard. I watched in stunned silence and just as I was ready to grab Effy by the hair and wrench her off my wide eyed girlfriend she pulled away.

"What the fuck, Effy?" I yelled, standing up and fully ready to kill her. She held up her hands submissively.

"Firstly: Sorry Naomi that was incredibly rude of me. Secondly: Freddie may not be worth becoming a dyke over but wow." She paused and smiled at Emily and then winked at me. "She sure is. You're a very lucky girl, Naomi." I wasn't sure whether to laugh or punch her in the face. I glanced at Emily who looked utterly shell shocked. "Finally, I'm not anything. I'm just Effy." She stated and took a seat next to Pandora. Everyone stood silently for a minute, not really knowing how to react.

"What a fucking show!" Cook yelled, clapping his hands. "Emilio you look like you've seen a ghost, kid!" Emily looked at him as if she was just now registering his presence.

"Shut up, Cook!" Katie scolded, glaring daggers at Effy.

"Aww Katiekins where is the love?" Cook asked and I then noticed Thomas' clenched fists. I had forgotten about Pandora and Cook's love affair, mainly due to the fact I couldn't believe it had actually happened. It still seemed incredibly improbable.

"In a fucking whorehouse Cook." She groaned and he chuckled.

"You'd know, huh Katie?" I couldn't help but laugh at that but it was very short-lived. I turned to see that Emily wasn't there.

**Sorry for the cliff hanger, and sorry but this will probably be the last update for a bit, this coming week is my last week of school, and the next brings with it *OMINOUSLY PLAYS PIANO KEYS* finals, but then it's Summer! Yay! So to make up for the brief hiatus, I made this chapter a little longer for you guys! My sincerest apologies and I know I'm about to get a bunch of complaints about the Effy scene but trust me I have my reasons!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! So I managed to get this (albeit fairly short) chapter finished in free period today so a few of you could rest easier knowing what happened in the holes of the last chapter. This is just kind of a cute/funny little bit and I hope it will get me at least a little forgiveness.**

I looked around worriedly and felt the room start spinning.

"Where did Emily go?" I asked, the fear seeping into my voice. Cook nodded to the stairs.

"She left a minute ago." He explained and I was for once happy with his fascination with my girlfriend. As I left the room I felt Effy's eyes on me, but I honestly didn't know how I felt about what she did so I avoided her stare. I knew she wouldn't try to take Emily from me, she would have _made_ me date Emily had I not chosen to myself, but she still kissed my girlfriend and even if she was trying to make a point it was really not alright. As soon as I was out of sight I turned frantic, running as fast as I could to find her. She wasn't in the bathroom and she wasn't in my room, that didn't leave any other options, really.

"Emily?" I called in the hallway.

"Yeah." A small voice answered. I walked into my room and noticed she was bundled up in a large pile of blankets on my bed.

"I couldn't find you." I whispered, lying down next to her. Only her eyes and a few strands of red hair were visible.

"I was hiding." She mumbled, sounding extremely adorable but painfully vulnerable.

"From me?" I asked, a little hurt. The mass of blankets rocked as she shook her head.

"No, just everyone."

"Why?" I asked, rubbing her very padded back.

"My head hurts, I'm fine, but it hurts." She complained and I kissed her forehead, exposing more of her face from her cocoon.

"I'll get you some aspirin." I offered, and went to stand up.

"Nooo." She whined in opposition, making me smile.

"Fine, fine." I resigned and she wiggled her chin out of the blankets so she could kiss me and then opened up her cocoon to me.

"In you pop!" She exclaimed and I joined her, snuggling into our little nest.

"Are you okay other than that?" I asked and she looked down.

"Katie was right. Everything is really screwed up." She frowned.

"So it appears."

"But it's not even the situation, it's just everyone. No one is being honest."

"Well Freddie has told Effy how he feels and Cook is over her and-"

"I wasn't talking about them." She interrupted.

"What do you mean?" She locked eyes with me and a small mischievous grin lit up her face. "Emily Fitch what do you know?"

"You didn't hear all of my conversation with Effy."

"What?" I asked, wondering what happened in the thirty seconds before I arrived.

"You have to swear to keep schtum, yeah?"

"I swear."

"You have to swear on something, I have to have collateral." Wow it had to be serious.

"Um, right, I swear on my life."

"Too precious."

"Sweet," I giggled, kissing her nose. "on all the oils in the world?" I offered and she chuckled.

"Cheeky, but no. Repeat after me: If I, Naomi Campbell."

"If I, Naomi Campbell..."

"Tell anyone what my darling girlfriend is about to tell me..."

"Tell anyone what my darling girlfriend is about to tell me..."

"Let me never eat another Garibaldi ever again." She stated and I gasped but nodded my head.

"Let me never eat another Garibaldi ever again." She looked like she was about to explode until she finally excitedly whispered:

"Effy likes Katie." I stared at her blankly. "To clarify, Effy Stonem has a crush on my sister and twin, Katie Fitch, yes."

"What... How...?" I asked dumbly, absolutely flabbergasted.

"Okay well apparently in Italy they totally bonded and I guess Effy was a total cunt because she was starting to feel something and tried to shove Katie away. Katie came home and we talked about things a bit and she said something vague and weird about Effy and her being complicated. But get this; at the club, when Katie was supposedly fucking that guy, she actually just wanted an excuse to talk to Effy, but we didn't see Effy leave because we went to go dance with Cook."

"So wait then what did Katie say to you today?"

"She dumped her boyfriend." Emily stated and my eyebrows shot up.

"Like _for_ Effy?" Emily frowned.

"To be determined. But that's why Effy kissed me, partly to shut up the boys, and also because she wanted to gauge a reaction from Katie. And Katie was pissed, so that's a good sign!" Emily grinned but I was kind of angry.

"Wait you knew she was going to kiss you? That's not okay, Ems." I asked. Emily's face turned shocked.

"No! I just figured. I mean, it's that or she's in love with me, but I mean, doubtful." Emily teased and I lightened up a bit.

"You are incredibly lovable." I pointed out and she grinned.

"I'm glad you think so."

"Not the only one, Jesus Cook ogles you constantly, I should really tell him to wipe the drool." I groaned and she flushed.

"He does that to all the girls."

"Not like that." I assured and she rolled her eyes.

"It's not like he would pull anything though, he loves you too much."

"Um, Emily, how drunk were you the other night? He did everything he could to get a moment alone with you." Emily shook her head.

"He was drunk too." She reasoned. I figured I should probably drop the subject but I wanted her to understand that I was worried about Cook without having to tell her.

"He fucked Effy all of last year even though Freddie loved her. When Cook wants someone he goes for it." I explained and Emily stroked my face, realization flashing across her face.

"Are you worried that I'll leave you for Cook?" She asked doubtfully and I tried to roll my eyes and snort but she saw right through it. "Naomi, first off I'm gay. Secondly, I'm in love with you. Those things together put up an impassable wall even Cook's brazen determination and crayola dick can't pass." She promised.

"I'll protect you from Cookie, don't worry. I'm sorry he's annoying you." I mentioned, not really wanting to discuss my jealousy further.

"Honestly I'm just glad he's not trying to sleep with you anymore." She laughed.

"Oh shit, wait, please tell me it wasn't _this_ aggravating...?" I pleaded, realizing how annoyed I was by his advances and that it must've been way worse for her. Emily shook her head.

"Please, you have it easy! You hooked up with him the day after we had sex for the first time, Naomi! I kissed him for a moment because you allowed me to be the prize in a stupid game..." She teased but I felt horrible.

"I'm sorry, really. I thought kissing Cook would help me feel a bit more normal."

"I get that." she shrugged.

"And last night I was wasted and competitive." I explained and she chuckled.

"I have no idea how Cook knew that shit."

"He probably pays more attention than you think. He's the one that told me where you went." Emily raised her eyebrows before rolling her eyes.

"Does he not realize that I'm taken?" She groaned and I laughed.

"Oh he knows, he just chooses to disregard the fact. The lines of friendship mean nothing to our dear Cookie."

"I can't imagine he would do that to you, hypothetically speaking that."

"You'd be surprised the lengths he'd go to do anything to you." I teased and she reddened.

"Ugh, no." She stuck her tongue out and made a gagging noise.

"The dirty joke makes itself right there."

"Ew, Naomi!_" _She screeched and shook her head as if to shake off the mental picture, flailing out of the cocoon. I was actually pretty thankful it was starting to get bloody hot in there.

"Sorry, sorry!" I apologized, holding my hands up in mock surrender as I kicked off the blankets.

"Uncalled for." She scolded and I smiled.

"Forgive me?" I asked and she gave me a challenging look. I kissed her lightly. "Forgive me." She shook her head and I rolled so that I was on top of her and kissed her hard. "Forgive me." I murmured into her mouth and she moaned in response.

"Fuck it, yes." She giggled as I ran my hands down her sides. I heard a creak in the floorboards and looked up in time to catch Cook poking his head in the door.

"Fucking pervert!" I scolded and he grinned smuttily.

"Don't stop on my account, or better yet, would you finally like to take up my offer?" He asked and Emily was the one to take the bait.

"What?" She asked confusedly, still underneath me, her hand that wasn't visible was tracing the bare skin of my stomach. Cook plopped onto the bed and struck a seductive pose.

"Why the three way of course!" He proposed.

"Fuck off Cook!" I yelled and he frowned.

"Fine, just me and Emily then! What about it girl?" He offered and I could feel Emily shake with laughter underneath me.

"Not in your dreams, Cookie."

"Oh you must be mistaken, it happens every night in my dreams, Emilio!" He corrected and I had to hand it to him, he was a charming bastard. I rolled onto my side because I didn't think he was leaving anytime soon, but I drew shapes with my fingers on the fabric of Emily's shirt, occasion straying just high or low enough to trigger a response, a little jolt or a giggle.

"I think you'd have hell to pay."

"My favorite currency." He quipped, wagging his eyebrows.

"Your dick is kind of a deal breaker, sorry mate." She chuckled sympathetically. Cook threw his head back and laughed before scooting closer to her.

"Babes, I can use my fingers." He whispered lasciviously and Emily turned redder than her hair.

"FUCK, COOK!" I groaned, feeling like he took it way too far.

"See Ems, it's alright with her!" He joked and I shot him my worst death glare. He just laughed and laughed, I glanced at Emily for support but I could see she was struggling trying to contain her laughter.

"Emily!" I scolded, annoyed, and she broke into an adorable little peal of laughter. "You two are incorrigible." I grumbled, only making them laugh harder. Way to take my side, Ems.

"Emilio are you alright?" He asked between fits of laughter. When Emily laughs hard enough she starts to wheeze, a fact I was used to but caught Cook off guard.

"She's fine. She wheezes when she laughs too hard." I explained matter-of-factly. Emily pursed her lips and nodded but then broke into a grin, it reminded me spookily of Katie. Cook grinned mischievously and sat up.

"Oh that must blow!" Cook teased, beginning to poke her in the stomach and tickling her sides. "Shit Ems don't laugh! What are you doing!?" I watched silently, knowing that Emily hated being tickled and Cook was relentless.

"Naomi what the fuck, help!" She pleaded, gasping for breath.

"No no, you children enjoy. Wouldn't want to intrude." I said sarcastically. Emily strained and tried to sit up but Cook sat on her, kneeing me in the process. "Oi watch it you brute!"

"_Naomi!_ Cook is practically straddling me and you're yelling at him for hitting your leg!?" She shouted.

"Should I leave? I can give you two some privacy, don't want to intrude or anything."

"Hell yeah, get to fuck!" Cook kidded, well, I hoped he was kidding. I jokingly sat up.

"So much for protecting me from Cook!" She complained and I finally smiled, winking at her as she writhed underneath him, far more innocently than he would prefer.

"Wait, sorry, sorry I misunderstood. You _don't_ want to fuck Cook?" I asked, faking surprise. She shot me a glare. "Cook, I command you to cease tickling my girlfriend." I demanded and he rolled his eyes at me. I grabbed a pillow and slung it against his head, the unexpected blow knocking him onto his side. I took advantage of the moment to jump onto the bed.

"Oh you're asking for it Blondie!" He yelled, seizing his own pillow and slamming me with it, harder than I thought a pillow could manage. Emily sat up, prepared to join the fight. "Nah princess, you're injured! Let the suitors fight this one!" Cook teased, and I internally cursed myself for his goddamn charm.

"She is MY princess, James!" I managed to retort and Emily grinned, distracting Cook long enough for me to kick the back of his leg so he fell onto the bed, unfortunately landing on top of Emily.

"Well hello there." He said suavely and kissed her cheek before rolling off and knocking my legs out with his pillow. Now it was a kneeling battle, the pillow blows were rapid and I was surprised Emily hadn't fainted with how hard she was laughing.

"You two are insane!" She yelled and I was just about to say 'only for you' but Cook hit me in the face.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Katie asked, seeming a little appalled and a little amused at the same time. I snuck in a blow while he was distracted.

"Fighting for Emily's affection, what does it look like?" Cook asked.

"Should I call Effy up here too?" She asked coldly, and I wondered if there _was_ something going on between them.

"Nah! Effy doesn't stand a chance." He chuckled.

"Oh please she's totally obsessed with Naomi, like _you_ stand a chance." Katie mocked and he frowned.

"Rude, tsk tsk tsk." He scolded and then leapt of the bed and chased after Katie with the pillow. "Onwards Naomi, we must slay the toxic twin!" He shouted. I leant down and kissed Emily, _hard_, before following him out of the room.

"Come on my love!" I beckoned, sprinting down the stairs. Pandora was the first to catch on, grabbing a throw pillow and chucking it at Freddie, catching him completely off guard. Come to think of it I had never seen them speak.

"ANARCHY!" Cook shouted, hitting Katie with the pillow right in the face.

"Cook my fucking hair!" She shouted, and hit him in the balls with an abnormally stiff pillow. He crumpled to the ground. Thomas took advantage of this and whacked him, while JJ and Panda ganged up on Freddie. Katie turned her attention, but I wasn't sure if it was aggression or affection, to Effy who coolly grabbed a pillow in lieu of her wine glass. She was surprisingly skilled with a pillow, but Katie was vicious. Suddenly I was rugby tackled by Emily onto the couch, who then hit me with one of the pillows from my room.

"Emily you could do better than that!" Katie scolded. "How many reps on the naughty bar have you done in your lifetime?" Emily giggled and tossed the pillow away, kissing me softly.

"A lover not a fighter, I see." Thomas observed, knocking JJ with a pillow.

"Treachery!" JJ announced, hitting Thomas back.

"Holy fuck my balls!" Cook whined and I nodded to Katie.

"Babes, maybe you should kiss it and make it better?" I kidded and she chucked a pillow at me.

"Fucking cow." She muttered.

"Aw that hurts, Katiekins." He pouted and then grinned at Emily. "You up for it, love?" He offered and she looked down at me with a grin. Before I could register what was happening she straddled me, kissed me passionately, and immediately traced my bottom lip with her tongue. I was absolutely lost in the movement of her mouth on mine that I forgot we were in a room full of people when she pulled away. Cook's eyes were about to pop out of his skull. Emily smiled innocently at me before shrugging.

"No thanks Cook, I'm good." She said nonchalantly. Freddie looked a little dazed and JJ seemed to be hyperventilating, but Thomas didn't seem to have noticed. I looked over to see Cook and immediately broke out laughing.

"The fuck do you want Blondie?"

"You have an erection, Cook." I pointed out and he looked down, then grinned at me.

"It's her fucking fault! What, am I not supposed to get a hard-on watching lesbians make out?" He asked, but I could tell he was at least a little embarrassed. Emily turned bright red and I reminded myself to ask her about that later. In the mean time the pillow fight seemed to have tired everyone out. Thomas and Panda were crashed on the couch, along with Freddie, Cook left the room to make sure his cock wasn't broken, JJ was still staring at us blankly and Effy and Katie seemed to have left... Wait.

"Emily." I whispered and she looked at me, smiling.

"Yeah babes?"

"Where's your sister?" I asked simply and she made a face at me, obviously confused. I raised my eyebrows and she seemed to realize her and Effy weren't around, breaking out in a huge grin.

"I really want to know what was in the third bag." She whispered and I nodded.

"Secret mission?" I asked.

"Secret mission." She affirmed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Well hello lovelies! So I've got two exams done and three to go but due to the early release today and the OBNOXIOUS amount of studying I did over the weekend, I have this chapter ready to go for you (well almost I haven't proofread it completely)! Don't get too used to Effy talking but I will occasionally include little interludes of other characters to give a little more perspective, for the record. UGH back to studying *kisses***

**Emily**

I always knew my sister had something for Effy, but I always thought it was a sort of weird I-want-to-be-her kind of thing, not an actual crush. I wasn't exactly opposed to them getting together but it was certainly a little weird. I also was not expecting Effy to kiss me, nor did I expect Katie to react so angrily, however I did finally understand Cook and Freddie's weird lust thing with her; she was an excellent kisser. Everything was starting to make my head spin, which was not helping the pounding headache I had from last night's festivities nor the knot that was swelling from my encounter with the cupboard, so I went upstairs to lie down, admittedly pleased by Naomi coming upstairs and checking on me and annoyed by Cook busting in and checking me out. However, the ensuing pillow fight gave Naomi and I the excuse we needed to get to the bottom of this Effy and Katie thing.

Hand in hand we snuck into the kitchen and quickly crouched behind the counter. Effy and Katie were outside and from where we sat we could see them perfectly. Katie was obviously incredibly mad but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Effy was wearing that aggravating little smirk.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as Naomi crept to the door. She held a finger to her lips to quiet me. She sat beside the door and gestured to the empty glass on the counter above my head. I rolled it over to her, it made a slightly loud noise when it hit the wall beside her but I don't think they noticed. She pressed it against the wall. I watched in silence as she listened, seeing her reactions and comparing them to Effy and Katie's outside. After a few minutes, she snapped her fingers to get my attention.

"You were right!" She mouthed, pointing to them. I tilted my head and held up my hands.

"About what?" I asked silently. She rolled her eyes and made a heart with her hands before pointing back outside. I covered my mouth with my hands to prevent myself from laughing out loud. Naomi stifled a giggle at me before turning her attention back to Katie and Effy. They seemed to have calmed down a bit. While Naomi listened in I inched my way to the third and supposedly secret bag.

**Effy**

I myself was surprised by my stunt with Emily. We had our talk and I kept being caught off guard by how similar yet different her and Katie are. They squint their eyes the same way when they smile, and their lips take the same angle. They both look at you the same way when you've said something too blunt, but their reactions afterwards are different; Emily would ask for clarification or just shrug and say "Alright" while Katie would call me a bitch, but the look is the same, that slightly hurt and slightly surprised expression. They make the same face when they're trying not to laugh. They've started to meet in the middle a little more, Emily is becoming more confident while Katie is reigning it in, it's peculiar.

I wonder if that's why Cook was suddenly so interested in Emily, the confidence. I know it intrigued me. Not to mention Katie and her hot and cold routine. I'm still a bit confused as to why Emily kept letting Naomi back in, she was such a twat. But I'm glad Naomi got her shit together, nauseating as it is, she fucking loves Emily. Seems like everyone does.

"Effy?" Katie snapped, breaking me out of my musing.

"Yes?" I asked, taking a drag of my cigarette. She threw her hands up in annoyance.

"I can see right through you, you know."

"Likewise." She shook her head.

"Why the hell did you snog my sister?" She asked and I looked down.

"Dunno."

"What do you mean you don't know?" I rolled my eyes.

"Let's work through it, shall we? I, as in myself, don't, as in do not, know. As in I'm not sure why I kissed your sister."

"Bitch, how do you just not know?"

"Maybe it was an accident!" I kidded but she obviously didn't find it funny.

"An accident. You just accidentally shoved your tongue down my little sister's throat?"

"There was no tongue, and she isn't your little sister, you're twins." I corrected, still tasting Emily's slightly sweet lips on mine as I licked them. I looked into the kitchen for a moment, hearing a strange noise but figured it someone just dropped a glass.

"I was born first, that makes me older." She explained and I rolled my eyes again. "You know that's really fucking rude." I rolled them once more just to annoy her. She ran a hand through her hair. "Fuck you, I'm going inside." I felt a brief rush of panic.

"Katie, stop."

"What?"

"Don't go." I grumbled, lighting another cigarette off of my other.

"I'm trying to Effy but I thought we were passed this bullshit. I thought we were finally friends."

"Aw, are you going to try to hold my hand?" It came out far more sarcastic than I intended.

"Holy shit." She huffed and turned to go. I grabbed her arm.

"I'm just... I'm not good at saying what I feel." I looked down at my worn converse.

"Oh, so you are actually a human." I glared at her and she smirked.

"So it appears."

"Well go on then."

"I'm sorry I kissed Emily. I didn't want to hurt you or anything-"

"We're not fucking dating Effy, I don't care. It's just, like she's my sister, yeah? I'm supposed to protect her and shit." I raised an eyebrow challengingly.

"So if I had kissed, say, Pandora, you wouldn't have been mad?"

"No." She answered quickly but wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Cook?"

"Nope." I took a step closer.

"And what if I had kissed you?" She looked up and I leant in a little bit. Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

"I'm not a lezzer."

"Didn't say you were." I shrugged.

"Yeah, well I'm not a lesbian and I'm not going to kiss you."

"Didn't stop you last night." She shot a finger to her lips. Last night had been a bit weird. Katie borrowed a condom from Cook and everything just to talk to me, she was scared people would get the wrong impression. I got a text about five minutes later, after Cook had practically yanked Emily onto the dance floor with Naomi trailing just a bit behind. Thank fuck for that or I'd have been left with Freddie and JJ. Once I got outside Katie was just leaning about against the wall, a beer in one hand.

_"Took you long enough." I muttered and she grinned._

_"Sorry had to get rid of that tosser."_

_"Yeah I figured. Couldn't fill the condom?" I asked and she giggled._

_"Not exactly." I liked drunk Katie, she wasn't such a bitch._

_"So anyway, you rang?" I asked, holding up my phone for good measure._

_"I'm mad at you." She pouted, playfully hitting my arm._

_"Yeah? What for?"_

_"You didn't tell me you were coming home. I missed you."_

_"I didn't tell anyone I was coming home until I was here." I explained and she rolled her eyes._

_"Oh right, because you're Effy Fucking Secretive Stonem, sorry I forgot."_

_"I like to keep a bit of mystery." I chuckled, lighting a spliff. She took the joint from my lips and took a long deep drag. "I thought you were anti-smoking?"_

_"Yeah well, fuck it."_

_"What about cancer?" She got really close to my face and I saw how dilated her pupils are, just now remembering that she had some of Cook's special powder, she blew the smoke into my face and I inhaled it._

_"Fuck cancer!"_

_"Amen." I agreed, blowing it out and taking back my spliff. We sat in companionable silence for a bit, just passing back and forth the joint. She looked so God damned pretty, which made me smile because she always dressed far too over the top. I used to think Katie was the sexy twin while Emily was the pretty one, but in that moment, and after seeing Emily on the dance floor, which was...Christ there aren't words, I realized they were interchangeable._

_"I wish I knew, just once, what you were thinking." She thought aloud and I turned to her._

"_Really?" I asked and she nodded. "I was thinking that you're beautiful." I admitted and she blushed._

_"Ha-ha. Very funny."_

_"I mean it." She turned to look at me and saw that I was sincere._

_"You're serious?" I nodded and she smiled before facing forward again. "Yeah well you're not so bad yourself."_

_"Bad bitches." I muttered and she laughed loudly._

_"Yeah, son." She yelled, impersonating that cringey American 'swag' voice before we started cracking up. I watched her laugh and grinned at how pretty she looked._

_"Can I kiss you?" I asked and she kissed me as an answer._

"Keep your fucking voice down. That was one time."

"A good time." She rolled her eyes.

"I was drunk."

"Technically."

"I would've probably kissed anyone."

"Debatable."

"I'm not gay, Effy."

"You sure?" She nodded, and I was disappointed by how sure she was.

"So it's just me then?"

"Yes- wait no!" She stuttered as I grinned. "No, Effy. I don't want to kiss you and I don't know what I was thinking last night."

"So," I took a step closer with each word. "What would you do if I just-"

"Stop." She whispered but didn't back away.

"-did it anyway?" I asked, only inches from her face. Her eyes flicked between my eyes and my lips several times.

"I'd fucking kill you." She said unconvincingly.

"I can live with that." I chuckled ironically and closed the space between us.

**Naomi**

I could not believe my fucking eyes. What the fucking hell was going on with my friends? First Cook was trying it with Emily and now I watched as Katie Fitch and Effy Stonem fucking snogged in my backyard. What. The. Fuck.

I turned to get Emily's attention but she was staring at the contents of the third bag, looking quite puzzled. I turned back to Effy and Katie, who were now full on making out but had to look away, from this angle Katie looked far too much like Emily and it was a disturbing picture that I couldn't shake so I scooted over to where Emily was on the floor.

"Ems?" I asked, but she didn't look up. She seemed a bit dazed. I laughed to myself, she always got like this when she was thinking. "Emily?" I waved my hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times and looked over at me. "Effy is making out with your sister." I informed her and she calmly looked out the window and nodded.

"Mhm." She mumbled, as I watched I saw it was less surprise and more confusion.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked, swiftly kissing her on the cheek. She glanced up at me and I saw the corner of her lips twitch.

"Why would Effy bring a duvet cover?" She asked, and I peaked in the bag. Lo and behold there was a bright green duvet.

"Dunno." I shrugged, but had an inkling.

"I mean it is Effy, but this is a nice fucking duvet." She chuckled and stood up. "Weird thing to bring to a party. Whatever." She laughed and held her hand out for me. "Shall we my love?" I eyed her skeptically.

"You realize Effy is making out with your sister, right?" She shrugged.

"Bound to happen eventually."

"Oh is that how it was with me, you were just waiting for me to work it out?" I asked and she grinned.

"Aw, babes, you've finally caught on." She teased with a wink. I laced our fingers together as we walked back into the living room.

"Ladies." JJ called out and I laughed at his attempted charm. Freddie was stuffing his face but he looked up and grinned at us.

"I gotta say, girls, you got the best snacks." He complimented, shoving a handful of crisps in his mouth.

"Yeah, whizzer." Pandora said, staring at the side of Thomas' face as he read the news from the morning.

"You okay Thommo?" Emily asked, cueing in on his mood. He shook his head.

"No, there has been a huge polio outbreak back home. My family is here, but, my village, I don't know." He explained solemnly and Emily looked up at me pleadingly, as if I could say something to make it better. I loved that she believed in me so much but I wasn't as great as she gave me credit to be. We had actually talked about this article the other day, I thought Thomas would have already known.

"The World Heath Organization and UNICEF have a vaccination drive already in the works Thomas, the good news is we already know how to cure it, now it just comes down to getting the medicine over there. Everything will be alright." I assured and he nodded, giving me an appreciative smile.

"God is good, my people won't suffer long." He said, as if he were reassuring himself. Emily squeezed my hand and nuzzled into my shoulder, her adorable way of telling me she was proud. Emily and I didn't speak much about religion, but I knew by the amount of Sunday mornings we had spent together that she didn't go to church, at least not with any frequency. I actually didn't know the religion of any of my friends really, except that Effy was an atheist but that seemed obvious. Mum had raised me in a somewhat agnostically buddhist way, with the morals of buddhism but not the discipline.

"Yeah, Thommo." Freddie surprisingly piped up.

"I didn't know you believed in God, Freds?" Panda asked and he shrugged.

"My mom did, but once she... Uh died we kind of stopped going to church. I don't know, you gotta believe in something right?"

"It hasn't been scientifically proved that an all-powerful being exists but science is obviously real and proven so until something proves me otherwise I have to disagree due to lack of concrete evidence."

"But they found the Shroud of Turin, JJ." Thomas explained and JJ shrugged.

"Could be a coincidence."

"Or not." Thomas challenged and JJ shrugged. They had come to be pretty good mates and knew when to drop it.

"Mum makes me go to church with Marvin." Pandora groaned. "God and I are whizzer pals but I don't like church so much. I can't sit still that long, my toes start going all numb."

"Yeah we stopped going when Katie and I got old enough to not want to. I don't know I think there's something up there, and I don't really mind calling it God." She shrugged and I smiled at her simple wisdom. "Besides, I know for a fact angels are real." She giggled and kissed me on the cheek.

"Ugh that was awful." I groaned, but blushed anyway. Cook finally piped up from his place on the couch where I _thought_ he'd been sleeping.

"I believe in God, ya know." We all turned to him quickly. "Ah don't act so surprised I got a giant ass cross tattooed on me side, jesus." He laughed, pulling up his shirt to reveal it. "Me and Paddy go kinda often actually. Have a lot to repent for."

"The devil incarnate, ladies and gentleman." JJ joked and we actually all laughed, including Cook.

"What's so funny?" Katie asked and I turned quickly and raised an eyebrow.

"Religion." Thomas informed and Effy smirked.

"Ah, Christ." I was the only one to laugh at her dry humor.

"Wanna hear a joke? It's super funny, Marvin told me it." Cook and Effy shared a knowing glance and I recalled the story they told me of his sexcapades with Panda's mom.

"Sure." Freddie was the one to answer and Pandora beamed.

"Alright. Who makes the best pizza in heaven?"

"Jesus." Effy blurted out and we all turned. "That's always supposed to be the answer right?" I started dying laughing again and everyone turned to me.

"She's fuckin' hilarious what?" I said defensively and Emily shook her head, chuckling.

"Give up?" Pandora asked and we all nodded. "Cheesus Crust!" She exclaimed and we all politely laughed, no one really thinking it was all that funny.

"Good one Pandora." Thomas grinned, the only one laughing honestly.

"I got one! Off the topic of the whole Christian shit... or stuff, sorry. What does Mary Poppins say when she's trying to flirt?"

"Stay awake, don't rest your head?" Pandora guessed and he shook his head, laughing at the potential dirtiness of the answer.

"Each day to the steps of St. Paul's, the little old bird woman comes?" Effy guessed, and I was surprised she knew Mary Poppins that well. Cook guffawed but shook his head. Suddenly Emily strutted over to Cook.

"You don't need a spoonful of sugar to make me go down." She said in her seductively husky voice with a dramatic wink, and I felt my knees go a little weak. Cook clapped his hands wildly.

"Fucking mint!" He yelled and they highfived.

"Hey Pandora I like that shirt, can I talk you out of it?" Thomas flirted and Pandora erupted in a fit of giggles, turning bright red.

"I met a girl with twelve boobs, sounds funny dozen tit?" Freddie offered and we all chuckled.

"This isn't an orgy guys, quit fucking around." Effy retorted.

"Ovary clever of you, Effy." I added.

"I named my cock The Truth because bitches can't handle it." Cook practically shouted.

"I guess the Viagra is working, Cook, you're twice the dick you were yesterday!" I laughed.

"Dammit, I was 6 inches away from making a penis joke!" Emily said and Cook jumped up.

"Emily just made a penis joke, who saw that coming?" He yelled, pointing at us, Freddie was the first to catch on.

"Naomi last night!" He shouted and they highfived and started wolf howling. I looked over at Emily and she was as red as her hair but she started laughing. After that everyone starting laughing and it was as if the tension of last year melted away.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down. Who's ready for the third bag?" Effy offered and everyone shouted their agreement. She sauntered into the kitchen and returned. Setting the duvet on a chair, she began tossing parcels to everyone. "Sit down, sit down." She requested and Emily and I shared the preferably one person seat, but I was certainly not complaining.

"What's this Eff?" Katie asked, examining hers.

"Well when I was in Italy I got you all little somethings." She said, smiling shyly. "Well for God's sake go on." She urged and we tore into our packaging. She got me a shirt that I assumed was for some protest that was going on in Italy but I couldn't read the words (they were in Italian.) I made a note to ask her later. She got Emily a little wooden bracelet, I recognized it as olive wood. I couldn't really see what everyone else was holding except Katie immediately switched to the earrings she had gotten her.

"Ah yeah this is good shit!" Cook exclaimed, holding up the bottle of Centerba. Freddie lifted a spliff to his mouth, which I assumed was some strange Italian weed that Effy had found. He took a drag and gave her a thumbs up.

"And finally, my dear Naomi and Emily." She gestured to us, clinking her wine glass. "Now, Emily, I don't know if Naomi has told you so I'm going to do it for her. Her and her Mom are moving." Emily tensed up and gave me a concerned look. "Actually, a bit closer to you ironically. Something about Kieran and it's closer to the school and whatnot. However, in addition to this," I held up my hand to shush Effy, I had wanted to tell Emily this part in private but she continued. "Kieran and Gina are going on a premarital honey moon and have left Naomi the flat." Everyone's head snapped up. "So as of next year, our dear Naoms will have the house all to herself." She took hold of the duvet. "So this, my lovely lezzers, is your housewarming present, specifically I suppose to Naomi, but I'm giving it officially to both of you." She tossed to duvet at us and Emily stared at me in absolute shock as everyone clapped and talked excitedly of all of the possibilities.

"How long have you known?" Emily asked and I shook my head.

"Literally Gina told me yesterday morning before she left." She nodded, now no longer worried that I had been keeping it from her. "I was waiting for the right time to tell you, but Eff is all about the grand presentation." I chuckled and she laughed along.

"Well this is extremely exciting. Now we don't have to worry about Gina walking in on us again. That's definitely a plus." I blushed at the memory.

"Yeah, one of many." I grinned, nervously fumbling with the little box in my pocket.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! So I'm officially on summer... YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! This chapter is the last leg of the party haha and the next is ironically the start of college. This chapter was kind of difficult to write, I figured there were a few things I needed to deal with for the gang to sort themselves out. Well, again thank you for the reviews and the follows and favorites you're all wonderful and very dear to me. Thank you so much for reading. And by the way, the pertaining lyrics for stuck on the puzzle by Alex Turner, will be posted at the end of this chapter, my darlings **

Life couldn't be more perfect. If you had told me last year I would be sitting in Naomi's lap with her arms wrapped around my waist in front of all of our friends I would have laughed in your face. I was admittedly terrified to go back to college; Naomi was fine with being a couple around our friends, and obviously it was kind of obvious during the Love Ball that there was something going on between us, but what if things changed once we went back? Would I be allowed to hold her hand in the hallway? Kiss her between classes? Tell people she was my girlfriend? We hadn't really talked about it.

Naomi broke me out of my reverie by running the tip of her nose up the back of my neck, gently inhaling my scent. I shivered a little bit as I felt her breathy laugh against my skin.

"Emily," She murmured, running her hands under my shirt slyly. I quickly looked around the room but no one noticed.

"I want to take you upstairs, right now, so bad." She whispered, trailing her fingers to the elastic of my knickers. I gently intertwined our fingers, pulling the wandering hand away and holding it on my lap.

"Naomi!" I scolded as quietly as I could manage.

"God I love the way you say my name, not like that, obviously. In bed, I mean. I want to make you scream my name." I shifted uncomfortably in her lap, wanting to drag her up to her bed right then and there. "I'm sorry." She giggled. "No, I'm really not. But Cook interrupted us earlier. I'm sexually frustrated." I loved it when she was so matter of fact. I used to hate her bluntness but now it was (usually) endearing.

"Just wait until everyone goes to bed." I reasoned. She groaned.

"That could be hours."

"I don't know I think Cook is waning." He was draped across JJ's lap.

"But I want you _now._" The forcefulness in her voice was enough to make me seriously need to get off her lap before I did something our friends would never forget.

"Don't do that." I moaned, standing up and pretending to stretch, raising my arms over my head. My shirt was tight enough that it pulled up a bit, and I could feel Naomi's eyes on my exposed skin.

"You alright, Emsy?" Naomi asked, her voice the epitome of innocence. I shot her a look.

"Fine. You?" She gave a devilish grin.

"A bit tired, in all honesty. I might go to bed soon." What seemed like a casual comment to our friends, was actually dripping with sexual intentions. I felt my knees go a little weak. Needing to steady myself, I sat next to Naomi on the couch and she immediately nuzzled into my neck. I loved when she was openly affectionate, the little things meant the most to me. Naomi always made my head spin though, she went from devil to angel in 0.6 seconds. I nearly yelped when I felt my little 'angel' bite my shoulder ever so gently. "Sorry." She whispered, not sounding very sorry at all and placed a quick but pulse-quickening kiss on the spot. JJ poked his head up.

"Um, guys, what's the time?"

"I was just about to ask the same question." I mentioned, my voice getting a little hoarse and Naomi laughed into my shoulder, knowing it meant she had me right where she wanted me.

"About half two, why Jay?" Freddie asked, looking wistfully at Katie and Effy who were in their own little world.

"Oh Bobbins! I thought I would be home by now I never called my mum to tell her my arrival would not be until tomorrow morning I didn't even lie and say I was sleeping at your house Freddie oh God she's going to be so worried and upset and oh shitification!" He yelled, causing Cook to jump a little. I was surprised that it was Katie who spoke up.

"No worries Jay, she texted you a bit ago and I said you were at Freddie's." All eyes turned to her, JJ looking the most surprised.

"I-... Thanks." He muttered and she shrugged.

"Ah shit, no Katie." Cook scolded and Katie looked over at him. Cook pointed at her accusingly. "You two cannot fuck, I will cause a riot if JJ gets to shag both of our little Fitches." Katie turned a bright red.

"Shut up James." Naomi defended and I smiled at her.

"Campbell I do not need _you_ to stick up for me. Cook, well, no, everyone: I am not going to fuck JJ. I was just being nice. I can be nice. Sorted?" Everyone nodded sheepishly. It was then that I noticed Effy and Katie were holding hands under the blanket they were sharing.

"I think Panda is asleep. Naomi where should I put her?" Thomas asked, Pandora was most certainly sleeping. If she hadn't been snoring loudly I'd have assumed she was dead. Naomi stood up and led him upstairs to the guest bedroom.

"Alright, Red, Naoms is gone; shall we make our getaway now?" He asked and I grinned at him, earning one back.

"Darling I doubt she'd be too happy about that." I said sweetly.

"Aw that's sweet of ya to consider her feelings and shit but Emilio, man, she'd recover!"

"Don't know if she would Cook. Naomi loves her, you know." Effy chimed in and Cook's playful demeanor dropped.

"Yeah, well I loved you and I'm doing fine." Effy cocked an eyebrow. Freddie's face drained.

"Really?" She asked. I would've thought she was being a tit, but I knew underneath it she was really trying to see if he was okay.

"You know what, fuck you, Effy." Cook said calmly and left the room. I looked around at everyone, waiting for someone to stand up to check on him but no one made a move.

"Christ. When Naomi comes back tell her I'm doing damage control." I requested and followed Cook to the patio. He was sobbing, occasionally taking a large gulp of the vodka bottle he'd taken outside with him. I closed the door louder than I needed to so that he'd know I was there.

"Ay Emilio, I'm just-you know this is strong shit, makes my eyes water, yeah?" I sat down beside him, wrapping my arms around my knees.

"Yeah it's good shit." Lemony Snicket (ugh don't say that, James went through a huge Series of Unfortunate Events phase) once said "Sometimes when someone tells a ridiculous lie, it is best to ignore it entirely." I decided that's what Cook needed.

"Did anyone ever tell you what happened with my dad?" He asked after a few minutes.

"No, what?" I asked, momentarily entranced by seeing my breath in the night's cold air.

"So we get there, right? And my dad is the coolest, he was hilarious, man. I love the fucker, yeah? So he bet this wanker bartender I'd win this race, if I won it the prick had to drop his tab at the pub. He bet his fuckin' boat, where he lives and it's all he's got. And anyway I guess Eff called Freds and told him I was in trouble. So they show up and I bet Freds that if I won this granny race-"

"Granny race?" I asked.

"Ah shit man, they had us run the entire length of the town with these old birds on our backs. Would've been hilarious if I didn't have so much ridin' on it, or me for that matter, that gal was heavy." He stopped and smiled at me while I giggled. "So Freddie and I bet Effy. The winner got her once and for all. Well of all things, JJ won. So my dad doesn't have a tab anymore, but he also don't have his fucking boat. But JJ, being the smartass he is made Effy choose between us. She didn't have to say a word, you could see it, the way she was lookin' at him. It's the way I look at her." He shook his head and I rubbed his back soothingly.

"So then what?"

"So the next day I go to see my dad and he's leaving, and he basically told me I never should've come and he didn't want me. So I took his keys and just sat there bawling in front of this bastard while he tells me he doesn't give a shit about me. Then he takes out a flare," He gestures the long tube. "And it's got sparks shooting out of it like one of them roman candles, and he threatens to take it to my face."

"Cook! Holy shit what did you even say?"

"He said he didn't give a fuck, so I told him I didn't either." He wiped more tears from his face roughly.

"Why not, Cook?" He turned to look at me; it was frightening, to see someone who seemed so happy and carefree fall apart right before your eyes.

"Because it all ends up shit for me anyway. Everything I touch turns to shit." He spat, as if he literally detested the words coming out of his mouth.

"Give me your hand." I demanded and he placed it upright on the cement step. I touched my pointer finger gently to his palm. "There. I'm alright aren't I?" He nodded, obviously confused. "Your theory has been disproved." I explained with a grin and he laughed.

"You're something, kid." He grinned, staring up at the sky.

"Do you know anything about stars, Cook?" I asked after a bit of silence.

"I'm not going to sit here and talk to you about stars, girl." He guffawed and I shrugged.

"Shame."

"I know one thing: you can't see the stars in bloody Bristol." I nodded, and we laid down on our backs so we could lack-of-stargaze. "Probably cause you're here."

"What?"

"You pissed 'em off. Too pretty for your own good, stars got jealous." I giggled but remembered I hadn't heard the rest of the story.

"What happened next, Cook?" I asked.

"Freddie hit him with a fire extinguisher and us four stole the boat, drove it all the way to Bristol."

"Shit." I said in astonishment and he chuckled.

"Yeah JJ is our little sailor boy, ain't he. Anyway we got back and Effy left for Italy and the three musketeers have been trying to make things right. It's just hard, you know."

"What's broken can always be fixed, what's fixed will always be broken." I quoted and he turned to me.

"That's bloody brilliant, who said that?"

"Jans Lenkman." I informed and he nodded.

"It's true."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about last year Red."

"What do you mean?" I knew what he would say but I wanted to hear him say the words.

"Naomi. If I'd have known you were together I'd have-"

"Oh please Cook." I cut him off.

"What?" He asked, sounding hurt.

"You're trying to shag me and I'm in a relationship, knowing that Naoms and I were sort of almost kind of together wouldn't have stopped you." He chuckled.

"If I'd have know you were this cool things would have been different."

"What?"

"I probably would've tried to fuck you instead." He kidded and I punched his arm.

"Ha-ha."

"Better late than never though, huh?"

"In this case never is your only option, Cookie." I said sweetly and he grabbed my hand.

"Well, even if I can't shag you, it's nice to have a mate, yeah?"

"Of course." We laid there for a few more minutes before we heard a noise in the kitchen. We sat up and from the corner of my eye I could see Naomi in the kitchen. Cook winked at me before saying rather loudly.

"NAOMI IS LUCKY, YEAH? GOT SUCH A FIT BIRD. DOESN'T SHE KNOW BETTER TO LEAVE IT ALONE WITH THE COOKIE MONSTER?"

"Oh James, Emily. Didn't even see you out here." Naomi kidded casually.

"You got my warning then, eh Blondie?" Naomi crossed her arms.

"Couldn't take her if you tried, James." She challenged and he raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna bet?" And with that he lifted me into a fireman's carry and Naomi chased him around the yard while I beat my fists against his back.

"JAMES!" I yelled but he didn't relent. He tripped at one point and I almost fell off but he somehow managed to keep me steady.

"Cook if you drop her I will fucking murder you!" Naomi screamed. After that a very pissed off Katie walked onto the patio and glared at us running around in the yard.

"What the fuck, you children, Naomi has neighbors!" Katie scolded before slamming the door and we all erupted in laughter.

"Cook please put me down I can't breathe." I laughed, barely able to get out the sentence in the middle of all the giggles.

"Fine, fine." He agreed and I felt much better finally being able to breathe fully again.

"Cook I may not be able to best you in physical matters, but I will destroy you if you touch my girlfriend again." Naomi threatened and I blushed just by her calling me her girlfriend, I'd never get sick of it.

"Aw, sweet." Cook said genuinely and Naomi turned and saw me blushing and grinned.

"Emily are you going to blush every time I call you my girlfriend, really?" She asked sarcastically but I knew she was the furthest thing from annoyed.

"Oh fuck you."

"Yes please." They said in unison before Naomi punched Cook in the stomach.

"Worth it!" He choked, trying to breathe. "Shit you've got a slug, girl."

"Remember that next time you try it with my girlfriend, Emily. Emily is _my _girlfriend. Did I mention I am dating Emily Fitch?" Naomi teased and I playfully shoved her. "Sorry, sorry. Emily Fitch is my _beautiful_ girlfriend whom I love very very much. Better?" I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed the soft spot just above her collarbone but beneath her neck.

"Yes!" I smiled and she kissed the top of my head.

"You alright Cook?" She asked and he nodded, grabbing the nearly empty bottle of vodka. We walked inside the kitchen and he set it on the counter. "Nearly everyone has gone to bed by now, you two were out there for some time." She gave me a strange look when she said that but it didn't seem accusatory.

"Sorry, mate. I think it took Emily a few times to really get used to it."

"Pardon?"

"It took Emily a few practice runs, you know? Before it really worked for either of us."

"What the fuck are you on about Cook?" Naomi asked, getting annoyed. She hated when Cook did this, carried on a joke for as long as he could without dropping the punch line. I already knew what was coming but I knew neither of them would be appeased if I butted in, so I feigned confusion.

"Oh, right, sorry, Emily and I fucking on your patio? Did you not hear us?" He asked and Naomi started wildly flinging her fists at him, not with any deadly intent but only slightly kidding. "She's loud too, no idea how you missed it!" He kidded between blows. "Might have to borrow her again sometime." Eventually I groaned and started pulling at Naomi's arms, trying to pull her away from him but she was having none of it.

"Naoms, come on, it's late and-" Cook had grabbed her hands and she forcefully yanked it back, elbowing me in the shoulder. It didn't really hurt at all but immediately Naomi spun around with a pain-stricken look on her face.

"Shit, Emily, I'm so sorry, are you okay, do you need ice, Ems, it was an accident I swear, fuck. Please are you alright, I'm so sorry." She apologized, her hand shakily fixing my hair.

"I'm fine, sh, calm down." I murmured, pulling my shirt off my shoulder so she could see it was still intact.

"I really didn't mean to. Do you want some ice or anything?" She asked, the worry thick in her voice. I shook my head.

"No thank you. Let's just go to bed, yeah?" She nodded lightly, her eyes trained on mine

"Sure, sure. Are you sure you're alright?" She asked again, still a little locked on.

"No, Naoms I'm dying. Say goodnight to Cook."

"Goodnight Cook." She muttered, sounding dazed. I stood on my tiptoes and looked over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Cook!"

"Ladies!" He saluted and made his way into the other room, plopping down on the empty couch.

"Blankets are in that closet," I gestured with my freehand as I led Naomi through the living room.

"Thanks Red. For everything." Cook said sweetly and I smiled at him in return. I tugged on Naomi's arm and led her into her own room. I jumped onto her bed, waiting for her to follow suit but she just stood in the doorway. I sat cross-legged and stared at her as I waited for her to say something.

"What are you doing?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Standing. What are you doing?" She asked sarcastically. She was trying to close me out but I wasn't going to have any of it.

"Waiting for you to come to bed and make me scream your name like you said you wanted to earlier." I chuckled, dropping my voice to the husky purr she loved so much. Her pupils dilated but she held her ground, giving me that unemotional and uninterested look I had to live with all of last year. "Fine, or not." I shrugged and pulled my shirt off, tossing it on the ground. I gave her one last look before getting under the covers. "Are you really just going to stand there?" I asked, kind of annoyed now.

"Maybe." I rolled over to glare at her.

"What the hell, Naomi?" I asked, the hurt seeping into my voice.

"What?" She asked.

"Why are you being a cunt?" I asked.

"Wow, thanks." She laughed, rolling her eyes. That did it.

"Why are you treating me like it's last year?" Her face completely dropped.

"Emily, please don't-

"No, you don't! You can't just shut me out again. Do you not get how that makes me feel?" I asked, the tears streaming down my face. Naomi immediately sat on the bed but she was on the very edge. "What did I do?" I asked, my voice cracking. She took several deep breaths.

"I hate this."

"What Naomi? You hate being with me? What?" She looked up at me and clenched her fists, her earlier unexpressive eyes now aflame.

"I hate that I love you so much. I hate that you love someone like me. I hate that you don't know how great you are, and how much better you could do. I hate that you have so much power over me without even trying, and I hate that you're too kind or at least unobservant to take advantage of it. I hate that I don't even have to think about you because you're always on my mind. I hate that I feel so far away sometimes. I hate that I get jealous when I see you smiling in pictures, knowing I wasn't the one who made you smile or when you're laughing with Cook or Effy because it drives me crazy. I hate that every time I see you, you blush a little and can't help but smile. I hate that you make me feel vulnerable. I hate that I think I need you. I hate that you get me, because I hide behind complexity. I hate that all of these things make me hate you sometimes, and I can't help but be a bitch, it's not that I hate you I hate what you make me feel. Do you understand?" She asked, the tears streaming down her face. I reached out and pulled her into my arms, stroking her tear streaked face as she cried into my bare shoulder.

"But you know what... I love you and you love me... So you're just going to have to deal with it." I insisted and she sobbed harder.

"I don't know how."

"We'll figure it out, yeah? Together." I assured.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She asked, laughing against my shoulder.

"Love." I informed and we started giggling. She slid off of my lap and stared at my face.

"I'm sorry."

"Just talk to me, please. If you ever get scared or angry just talk to me." I begged and she nodded weakly.

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I just, I hit you and I felt so fucking bad because I told you I never wanted to hurt you again. And I saw you with Cook and it just made me feel so scared, like at any point you're going to run away and realize how stupid I am and you're gonna leave."

"I'm not going anywhere, Naoms." She stared at me for a long time.

"I love you." She whispered and I managed a small smile.

"I love you too." She leaned forward and kissed me. We kissed for a few minutes before she pulled away, her eyes boring into mine.

"Emily you're crying." She stated, wiping the tears from my face.

"You just can't do that to me Naomi. I can't deal with that." She nodded guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If it helps you're the only person who has ever called me on my bullshit." I giggled at that and she smiled. "I'm so sorry, will you forgive me?" She pleaded and I hesitated for a moment. I had grown a second skin to it last year, but occasionally when she pulled the Ice Queen act on me it stuck deeper than it used to.

"Please just, talk to me. Don't do this to me, I can't handle it." She reached out and took my hand.

"I promise. I love you." I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I know." I grinned.

"Can I kiss you?" She asked.

"Why do you think you have to ask?" I asked, kissing her.

"Just- making- sure." She answered between kisses. I pulled her on top of me and she knotted her fingers in my hair. I pealed her shirt off and threw it onto the foot of the bed before running my hands down her back. She squealed as I squeezed her ass, and I took the moment as a chance to flip us over so that I was on top. I ran my hands down her chest and felt her shiver under my touch. "Closer." She whispered, pulling me impossibly nearer. My left leg slipped and I felt something in her pocket.

"Happy to see me?" I teased. She blushed and stuttered for a couple seconds.

"It's just my phone." She mumbled, and I reached to the bedside table, holding up her cellphone.

"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes widened and I watched them float around the room as she tried to think of another excuse. "I already know you're lying so you might as well tell me what's pressing up against my leg right now." She suddenly went from blubbering to confident, rolling us over and straddling me in one quick move.

"Do you really want to know?" She asked and I nodded, suddenly less interested in the box and more intrigued by the blonde.

"Amongst other things." I flirted, licking my lips.

"Oh really? You need to get your priorities straight, love." She ran her finger down my chest. "What would you like now?"

"Kiss me." My voice was thick with need.

"As you wish." She giggled, pulling the object from her pocket and putting it on her bedside table before kissing me passionately on the lips. Any thoughts of the box went from my brain as soon as she started to kiss my neck, her hands stroking my thighs. "And what now?" She asked, kissing me hungrily. "What do you want now?"

"You." I whispered.

"Well you have me. You always have. Always will."

**GAH I'm sorry! As much as I wish I could write the characters the way I'd like for them to be, I feel like Naomi at this point is still afraid, she isn't totally used to the idea of being in a relationship and they needed to resolve things and talk it out so that things can be easier later on. And I had to give a little redemption to Cook. I rewatched the finale of the third season and it broke my heart, poor Cookie. I felt like no one ever really let him confide in them and I figured Ems would have had she not been so caught up in her heartbreak. Alright well that was just a little look inside the writer's mind. Here's those lyrics:**

**I'm not the kind of fool**

**who's gonna sit and sing to you,**

**about stars, girl.**

**But last night I looked up into**

**the dark half of the blue,**

**and they'd gone backwards. **

**Something in your magnetism**

**must have pissed them off,**

**forcing them to get an early night.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello darlings, I have this chapter ready way earlier than anticipated... I really don't even know how but tada! Many of you have asked what's in the box but I apologize you won't find out in this chapter... but maybe soon ;) In addition, I appreciate the reviews and feel free to leave more! Enjoy my dears!**

I woke up earlier than usual the next morning and hid the box. It had been a close call last night, but I wasn't ready to give it to her just yet. Especially not after last night. She's a sensitive flower, that one. It's so frustrating, trying to avoid hurting her. It makes me feel horrible and I can't take it sometimes. I was already annoyed when I saw her outside with Cook and then I accidentally hit her and she wasn't mad or hurt she was just so sweet. She's always so sweet and sometimes it turns saccharine, it's just too much. She expects me to be this perfect person, and so when I disappoint her I feel like I'm shattering the idealistic version of me that she's thought up. Sometimes I wish she would just get mad, not hurt or offended, just angry. I would rather her be mad at me than think she did something wrong. I'm terrified. I'm so terrified. I've always been terrified. It's what kept me from her for so long. I had always thought if I could keep her at arm's length I would be able to keep us both from pain, but after too long I gave up. I was too weak to resist her, and I left her, then she let me in again, and the cycle repeated and repeated until now. But _now_ I'm scared that I might be too weak to keep her.

I started picking up the discarded cups and plates downstairs. I moved into the kitchen to put the coffee on, but Thomas was already there.

"Thomas, hey?"

"Oh, Naomi, yes. Sorry I started the coffee, is that okay?" He asked, fumbling a bit for his words.

"Yeah it's fine. Thank you." He nodded as he poured a cup for me and himself, I couldn't put a finger on it but he seemed upset. "Are you alright, Thommo?" Suddenly he covered his face with his hand.

"No. I'm not. After reading that yesterday it just made me think of home. I used to be so happy back home. And here I have Pandora, yes and so many friends but it's not the same. I don't feel the same."

"Like you've changed since coming to Bristol?" He nodded sadly.

"Yes but it's more than that. I feel like I've lost my innocence."

"Well it was bound to happen, Thomas. Everyone grows up eventually."

"But not like this, Naomi. Not like this. I don't want this for my little sister and brother. There's too much here. I fear for them."

"Are you going to leave then?" I asked, somewhat shocked that Mr. Perfect had problems. He shook his head.

"I can't. There may be corruption here, but there's money and jobs. I can make a life for us here. The question is at what cost?

"Depression, various mental illnesses, really. The world is a fucked up place, Thommo." I suggested, albeit a little sarcastically.

"I might be depressed. That would explain it, yes?"

"I don't know what to tell you Thomas. Maybe it's the alcohol? Or the spliff?" I offered and he snapped his fingers.

"I think you have a point. No more, no more of that." He nodded excitedly.

"Have you spoken to Panda?" I asked, feeling a little awkward. I wasn't really good at giving advice, people rarely confided in me. But Emily really cared about Thomas for some reason so I decided to play nice.

"No, I couldn't. Pandora would think it was her fault."

"I get that!" I snorted, then cursed myself for being a twat.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't be upset or in a bad mood without Emily thinking she's satan." I kidded and Thomas nodded.

"She's sensitive, Naomi." Thomas defended and I held up my hands.

"I know, I know. She's incredible and I don't deserve her, I know." Thomas laughed at me and I looked up, a little surprised.

"Don't you see? If you can say that, then you're wrong."

"What do you mean?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"You see, someone is a bad person because they won't admit their faults. If you admit your faults then you can't be too bad. You do deserve her because you realize your shortcomings and you try to fix things, yes?"

"I suppose, but-"

"But nothing. I'm sure Emily has faults." I shrugged.

"Sure about that?" I asked. Thomas looked hurt so I softened my expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone seems to think she's perfect." Thomas caught on and laughed, almost spitting out his coffee.

"No one thinks she's perfect, they just think she's nice. She cares about people."

"Yeah well no one seems to understand what she's doing with me." I said crossly, but I actually really wanted to hear his opinion on the matter. It's not like I was fishing for compliments, I mean, I didn't necessarily want him to tell me I deserved Emily, but it would be nice to hear for once.

"I do." I looked up, a bit surprised. "Emily sees something in you, she always has. It's what kept her coming back. No matter what you did, she came back. It's hard for us to comprehend, because you haven't shown it to us. But she loves you, and you love her. I don't know when you realized you did, but I'm pretty sure it was earlier than she thinks. Just remember that, Naomi." He said cryptically before exiting the room, coffee in hand. I stared down at my now lukewarm coffee for a few minutes before setting it down and quickly heading upstairs.

Emily was sprawled out across my bed, with one leg over the covers as per the usual. Her red hair was splayed across the pillow and she was mumbling something incomprehensible. It suddenly occurred to me that I was being foolish; Emily wasn't dragging me down, she was keeping me afloat. I laid down beside her and laced our fingers together.

"Ems." I murmured and her eyes blinked open, lazily training on mine.

"Naomi?" I stroked her prefect cheek.

"I just, I love you."

"I know." She said with a cheeky but very sleepy grin. I felt the tears well up in my eyes a bit.

"Just don't forget it though." She shook her head and I immediately leant in to kiss her. "I want to make this work. I'm going to be better, for you, because you make me better."

"Why are you saying this?" Emily asked, eyeing me carefully, suddenly a bit more awake.

"Because I was such a twat last night. And I care about you."

"All is forgiven." She reminded me and I shook my head.

"I'm saying it anyway." She held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Don't get me wrong I love your speeches, I'm just letting you know I'm not mad at you." She explained with an adorable grin on her face.

"Yeah you made that clear last night." I said with a cheeky smile.

"Hey!" She scolded, hitting me with a pillow. We had to do a rescue mission late last night to get our pillows back from the living room after um... making up.

"Oh don't start that again." I warned and she tossed the pillow to the foot of the bed as if it contained explosives. "How's your head?" I asked, suddenly remembering her injury.

"Not bad at all." I eyed her skeptically. "A little sore, but it's fine." I kissed the spot tenderly and she giggled, pulling me down to kiss her lips.

"Ugh what are you doing to me, Emily?" I asked, quickly leaning in for another kiss. She pulled her head back so her lips were just out of reach. "Evil." I whispered and she chuckled again, moving so that she was straddling me and placing light, teasing kisses on my neck.

"You're beautiful." She murmured against my neck and I felt a blush spread across my cheeks.

"As are you." I whispered and she smiled at me before placing a gentle kiss on my lips. She had no idea the power she had over me.

It took a few hours for everyone to clear out, Katie was the last to leave. She had insisted Emily come with her but she insisted on helping me clean up. Katie was going to wait but then she received a text from 'no one' and left with a hardly hidden smile on her face and an order that Emily be home by six. It hadn't taken long to clean but Emily and I decided to spend the day together. College started tomorrow and I wanted to live as long as I could in the bliss of our summer together.

"So what'll it be Ems, Rushmore or Heathers?" I asked, skimming through Gina's titles. She took a moment to stretch out and checked the time.

"Shit!"

"What?" I asked, looking up in surprise.

"How is it already seven?" She asked. I felt my shoulders sink as the realization hit me. She was supposed to be home at six.

"Do you have to leave?" I asked as she finished sending a text I supposed was to Katie. She looked up at me with a sympathetic shrug.

"I'm sorry, it's just Katie and my mum, you know? I have to go." She explained as she searched the room for her clothes.

"Right, um. Well I'll see you at college, yeah?" I asked and Emily stopped for a moment, picking up on my tone of voice.

"Hon, I wish I could stay here. You know that right?" She asked and I nodded. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Sounds lovely." I agreed meekly and she laughed lightly, sitting on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her waist and snuggled into her neck.

"Do you want to come stay at mine tonight? I don't want you to be all alone." I smiled, kind of endeared that she was worrying about me.

"Thank you, but I'll take my chances." I kidded and she pulled back, kissing me heatedly before standing up to go.

"Well then goodbye my love, I'll see you soon then." She said with a wink before grabbing her keys and heading out. It was always a strange feeling when Emily left, like she took all the air out with her. I felt so empty without her around, the first time I realized it was when she was on holiday with her family. Those few excruciating days where she was chasing after Katie. I felt horrible just recalling the various things I had thought she was doing; fucking that guy she met, Josh or whatever, or was she just ignoring me, had she finally realized she deserved better, I wondered if she got cold feet and a thousand other accusations. I never considered that it wasn't her fault. Maybe I wanted her to have fucked up, or to have decided she didn't want me. Then I could have gotten out before we passed the point of no return. But as soon as she came home, as soon as I had her in my arms again, I knew that we had passed that point a long time ago.

**Emily**

"Hey I'm home!" I called, setting my helmet down on the counter.

"Thank fuck! Mum was about to go right mad." Katie whispered angrily, appearing at the top of the stairs. She then gestured for me to come upstairs. James was sitting on my bed and Katie sat on hers, I joined James.

"What is this?" I asked and James snickered.

"Mum and Dad are having a row, so we're on our own for dinner. James and I being the darling siblings we are chose to wait for you." Katie explained and I smiled.

"Alright, what's the plan?" I asked and felt James wriggle beside me.

"James?" Katie asked and he grinned.

"Pizza." Katie and I rolled our eyes.

"You could try to be at least a little original, James." I teased and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Fine. Pizza or fish and chips. Your call, bitches."

"Ugh pizza I suppose. Eat out or delivery?" Katie asked and James smirked.

"Well we know what option Emily prefers." I smacked his arm but started cracking up. Soon enough we were all laughing and out the door. There was a pizza place not far from the house, luckily, because there's no way all of us would've fit on the moped.

"Bitches." James said sweetly, holding the door open for us. We both chuckled as we found our way to our seats. I got my usual slice of pepperoni, Katie got a salad and James got a meatball sub.

"Like your balls, huh James?" Katie asked with a raised eyebrow as he dug into his sandwich.

"Oh yeah, Katie, love 'em. But I shouldn't have to tell you. You know all about having balls in your mouth." He joked, earning a huge laugh from me.

"You're such a little perv!" Katie laughed affectionately. What was grossly annoying last year was now just really funny.

"Just figuring that out?" He asked snidely.

"No I think we figured out the first time we caught you perving through the key hole in the bathroom." I explained. James looked down at the table.

"I don't do that anymore, jeez." He groaned and Katie and I laughed.

"Yeah, two weeks ago was such a long time ago." She kidded.

"I promised that was the last time!"

"We'll take your word for it." I said, calming him down. "So are you excited to start Year 10?" I asked and he grinned.

"Totally. Can't wait. I'm gonna get a girlfriend." We both looked up.

"Really? How do you plan on doing that?" Katie asked dubiously.

"Well I figure Emily is a girl and she did it, and that fit girl kissed you when she dropped you off today so my odds are pretty good." He explained and Katie went red.

"Emily he's obviously just making that up-" I held up my hand.

"Effy told me, it's alright, I know. We'll talk later." She stared at me, dumbfounded and I smile encouragingly. "And James, you're a Fitch, your odds are the best of the best." I told him as we started the walk home. He suddenly broke into a face-splitting grin.

"What?" I asked and he skipped in front of us, before turning around and holding up his arms.

"Fitches get bitches!" He shouted and Katie and I joined his excited pace back, laughing the whole way. By the time we got home our parents had gone to bed, which either meant they made up or they gave up. While my siblings headed upstairs, I put my phone on the charger downstairs after shooting Naomi a quick goodnight text. Upon returning to my room I saw it was empty. Confused, I dressed for bed and then checked James' room. Katie and him had practically emptied his closet onto the bed.

"What's this?" I asked, having a brief déjà vu moment..

"We're trying to find James an outfit for tomorrow." I laughed and took a seat on the floor.

"What's the current wardrobe?" I asked and James suddenly sauntered into the room wearing a crisp white shirt and khakis.

"Handsome!" I said, clapping my hands. "The vans are a nice touch." He struck a pose and winked.

"Alright Zoolander, fold it up nice." Katie ordered and left the room.

"Goodnight James." I said with a smile and ruffled his hair, heading into our room. Katie was standing in front of the closet, no doubt picking her outfit.

"So you're not going to steal mine again?" I teased and she shook her head.

"No, babes. I don't want any of your dikey clothes." She mocked and I faked a hurt expression before cracking a grin. "So you know about Eff and I then?" She asked, sitting beside me on the bed and I nodded.

"She didn't tell me much, but yeah I know."

"Well keep it to yourself, yeah? I don't really have any of this figured out and I don't really want the whole form figuring it out."

"Of course not." I paused a moment. "I told Naomi." I admitted and she slapped my arm.

"Emily! What the hell?"

"She's my girlfriend! We tell each other everything."

"Well what does my relationship with Effy have to do with her?" I felt a grin spread across my face. "What are you smiling at?"

"So it's a relationship?" I clarified and she smirked.

"I guess so. We haven't really talked about it."

"Well you don't have to make anything official, you know."

"Yeah." She paused and nodded. "Yeah you're right."

"You know I can be rather clever." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah. You're smarter, I'm sexier."

"Oi!" I exclaimed, gently shoving her off of my bed. She stuck her tongue out at me and resumed looking for an outfit.

"What are you going to wear?" She asked and I shrugged. "No, no, no."

"What?" I asked and she smirked at me, tossing me two separate bags. "What's this?" I asked.

"You've been talking about wanting to go red, like really red. So I got you some dye. It'll look good with your haircut, I'm sure of it. And an outfit for tomorrow." I grinned at my sister.

"What about you?" I asked and she held up a different bottle.

"I'm going to try purple." She announced. We made our way into the bathroom and clinked our separate bottles together.

"Cheers!" We said together. An hour later I was sat in front of the mirror in our room admiring the new color. It was so much brighter, I loved it, I really fucking loved it. "Katie, I love it, thank you."

"My pleasure. I'm sorry for running off on you in Paris and for nicking your phone. I didn't want you to be happy, because I was miserable. And I hated Naomi for taking you from me, so I wanted to make you two as unhappy as I was. I wanted to get you back, to take her out of the equation."

"And now?" I asked, astounded by the sudden apology.

"Consider it my gift to you. And this," She pulled the outfit from the bag and tossed it onto my lap. "My gift to Naomi." It was a pair of fairly short black shorts and a red v-neck singlet. "Don't you dare wear vans with it."

"This is _wow,_ really but it is Bristol, Katie. I'll freeze!" I teased and she tossed me a royal blue blazer-looking jacket. I stared at it in wonder. "I love it." I said simply and she grinned.

"Knew you would." She said proudly and I smiled at her, wrapping her in a hug.

"I love you." I murmured and she nodded.

"You too." She groaned and we went to our separate beds.

"I'm not used to this."

"What?"

"Talking to you about things, being, like-"

"Vulnerable?" I asked and I heard her laugh.

"I suppose."

"Well I like it when you talk to me. Reminds me that you're human." She started full on cracking up now. "What?"

"I said the same thing to Effy the other day."

"Twas meant to be!" I teased and she snorted dismissively but I saw her smiling as she turned off the light.

"So why purple?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It's different."

"Well yeah."

"From you." She added. I looked over at her through the darkness.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm tired of being compared. I used to like it, but now it's just tiresome. I love being your sister, but it's kind of hard to be your twin." She explained.

"Trust me I get it, wasn't exactly fun being the loser twin all of my life."

"Naomi has made you branch out, you know? You're so much more confident now. You're not a victim anymore."

"I suppose." I said shortly, that annoyed me for some reason. Katie caught on.

"I don't mean you wouldn't have without her, or that she should get all the credit. Just that she was the spark that lit your fuse." I smiled a little at that.

"She is a bit explosive, isn't she?" I asked and Katie snorted a laugh.

"You could say that."

"Thank you, for everything."

"You too, Ems."

I woke up fairly early the next morning and took a shower before Katie woke up, charitably leaving plenty of hot water. I was startled slightly by how bright my hair was but I smiled at my reflection. Katie passed by me groggily in the hall.

"Morning!" I greeted. She flailed her hand dismissively.

"Don't speak to me until I've woken up." I laughed and knocked on James door.

"Wake up, James!" I shouted and heard a muffled groan from within. Having done my duties I went into my room and laid out my outfit. "Katie wasn't the only one who had done shopping." I thought aloud, pulling out the new pair of knickers and the matching bra I had purchased a few days ago, light blue with black trimming, lace. They were expensive but hopefully worth it. I dressed and put my hair in a sort of pompadour. After doing my makeup I went downstairs to grab breakfast.

"Emily?" Dad called and I waved. "Ay girl your hair is well, really right red!" He exclaimed, and I laughed as I grabbed a pack of biscuits.

"Yeah, Dad. It's red. I'm off. See you at college Katie!" I shouted and she said something incomprehensible just as I shut the door.

I felt oddly nervous as I pulled up to Naomi's house. I wasn't sure how she would react to the _red_ hair and I was dressed a bit more scandalously than usual, not to mention this was the first day of college and I wasn't sure exactly what it would bring. I stood outside for a minute, deliberating whether I should ring the bell or text her saying I was out front.

"Fuck it." I shrugged, and marched up to her doorstep. I rung the bell and stared down at my golden brogue pumps until I heard the door open and a quick intake of breath. Naomi looked gorgeous, her now shoulder-length hair was slightly curly and she had on a tight black shirt with the words _Live Fast Die Young, _one of Vivienne Westwood's more potent mission statements and a white and black striped skirt with her olive green converse.

"Um, _hi_." She said, the surprise evident in her voice. I smiled cheekily as she obviously ran her eyes across my body, stopping at my hair. "It's red-der."

"Thank you for noticing." I teased, I bit my lip as she continued to be quiet and was just about to ask her if she didn't like it after all when she pulled me into her house and pushed me up against the wall, kicking the door closed and kissing me heatedly.

"It's gorgeous. You're gorgeous." She whispered against my lips.

"Oh, um, hi!" Gina called, startling us both. I would've laughed at her and her daughter using the same greeting but I was a bit embarrassed, what with having her daughter's hand under my shirt and my fingers in her hair. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Really, mum?" Naomi groaned, grabbing my hand and leading me back outside.

"Bye Gina... Sorry?" I called and heard her giggle as Naomi slammed the door.

"I told her to stay in the kitchen." Naomi complained and I kissed her, slightly more innocently than before, wrapping my arms around her. She sighed into the kiss and I felt her shoulders relax. "You really do look lovely."

"Thank you, you as well my dear." I said sweetly. "Shall we?" I asked, and she nodded, wrapping her arms around my waist as we headed off to college. It wasn't a long trip and we got there within five minutes.

"Gotta say this is faster than my bike." She giggled as I parked.

"Here to serve." I said with a cheeky grin, but felt it falter a bit as she loosened her grip on my waist, getting off the moped quickly. I stood up, taking the keys with me and hesitated before facing her. She wasn't looking at me, but rather at the group of first year boys who were staring at us, with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Are they, like together?" I heard one ask.

"Doubt it. Never seen such hot dykes, aren't they 'sposed to be ugly?"

"Ay gals, craving cock?" The supposed leader of the group yelled and I watched as Naomi tensed uncomfortably.

"Ignore them." I urged and she shook her head, still not meeting my gaze. "Well, see you?" I offered, turning to walk away, a bit annoyed. I heard her take a breath.

"Wait, where are you going, Emily?" She asked jogging a bit to catch up. I stopped and turned to her.

"I don't know how you want to do this. I don't want to ask too much of you but I'm proud, I feel lucky to be with you. I want to be with you. I want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you between classes and I just want to make sure we're on the same page. I want this, you, us." I rushed out, and then had to catch my breath. Naomi reached out and stroked my cheek.

"Emily, I'm serious about this. I love you, I never intended to, but you got me and now you're stuck with me. I'm ready, for this, for you, for us." She said simply, leaning in for a slow, sweet kiss.

"Aw fuck yeah!" One of the wankers yelled and Naomi flicked them off.

"You're welcome!" She called, and grabbed my hand. "Shall we?" She asked and I grinned.

"I'm in love with you." I stated happily as we walked through the corridors. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and kissed my forehead.

"And I you, babe." We stopped as we passed the common room, seeing our friends inside.

"Lezzers!" Cook yelled, then his eyes went wide. "Maybe I should call you Redder, huh? Lookin' fine mate. Naomikins, you too babe!"

"Where's Thomas?" Naomi asked and I looked over at her, a bit surprised.

"Not here, why?" Pandora asked, shocked as I was.

"Just curious." She lied but everyone seemed oblivious. I gave her a curious look and she shook her head as we took our seats on the couch.

"Later." She whispered. I trailed my hand down her thigh and she giggled, seizing my hand in her own. "Later." She repeated, patting my hand before pulling it to her lips and kissing it gently. JJ and Freddie were playing pool while Effy absentmindedly stroked Katie's purple locks. Cook rubbed his hands together and with a satisfied sigh announced loudly:

"Anyone interested in being the Cookie Monster's biscuit?" No one seemed too interested. I looked around warily as he pulled out a cigarette. "Fuck it." He chuckled, lighting up. I had heard we had a new Director but no one had really seen him/her or really knew what had happened to Harriet. Suddenly the first bell rang and Naomi held her hand out to help me stand.

"To politics?" She asked and I nodded happily. It was the only class we had together other than free so I made a mental note to devote extra study time to it; I knew I wouldn't be paying much attention. I frowned upon entering the class, realizing Kieran wouldn't be our teacher. It made sense of course, he was soon to leave on Holiday with Gina, and he taught first years anyway, but still... I didn't like the look of our new teacher. "Aw fuck, Kieran warned me about her. Total twat." Naomi groaned, placing her bag down in an empty seat and pulling the chair next to her out for me. Someone cleared their throat at the front of the room.

"Excuse me, who are you two?" Our new teacher asked snidely.

"Emily Fitch." I answered, a bit confused.

"Naomi Campbell." Naomi stated, acting put out. The teacher rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Of course. Well I'm Ms. Matterson, and you don't get to pick your seats in my classroom."

"Right, sorry. Where would you like us to sit?" I asked as Naomi stared daggers into the woman.

"Fitch, you're over here." She directed, pointing toward the open seat near the window. "Naomi, you're by Mister, um what's your name?"

"Bruno." The blonde boy answered. He was a bit of a wanker but Katie had snogged him last year anyway.

"Right. Well. I have to go grab the syllabuses from the office." She paused and glared at us before adding in a voice that suggested she was already tired: "Behave yourselves."

I was glad to have a seat all to myself, especially when Naomi walked over and sat on my desk.

"You rebel!" I exclaimed with a seductive smirk and she cocked an eyebrow.

"What, are you going to punish me?" She asked, and I laced our fingers together.

"Maybe later." I promised with a shrug and she kissed my hand.

"I already hate this class." She glanced over at me. "Besides the view of course."

"And what view would that be?" She smirked cheekily, biting her lip and running her eyes down the length of my body and then back up. I felt the warmth of my blush mark the trail her eyes had blazed. I cleared my throat to speek and managed: "What a relief, thought I was the reason." She grinned goofily. I loved when she was like this, all playful and silly. I loved how she could go from being sexy to silly in a matter of seconds. Never ceased to amaze me.

"You're my reason." She said and I stuck my tongue out at her. I watched her eyes light up as she laughed, the way they squinted just a little bit and shone with the tears that fell if she laughed hard enough. This girl was going to be the death of me. Subconsciously I heard the door open, and watched as Naomi looked over. "Shit." Her grip on my hand turned slack and her face drained, and all of my previous joy was replaced with a unshakable feeling of dread. I opened my mouth to ask what was the matter but then Ms. Matterson ordered:

"Back to your seats." There was a brief pause, and I watched as Naomi slowly made her way to her desk, stopping to look at me halfway through. Her face was anything but unreadable right then, she looked remorseful but it was more than that... Then it dawned on me: I'd seen her look at me just that way far to many times. She was scared. "Oh, you, take the open seat over there by the window, next to Ms. Fitch, was it?" I nodded, my eyes still trained on Naomi's. Suddenly my new seat mate reached out a hand and I finally looked at them; it was a girl, she was tall, with curly brown hair and a kind but nervous smile. I shook her hand, it was quite clammy.

"Emily." I greeted and she nodded.

"Sophia."

**So I've been considering doing this for some time now but this was the first Chapter I really felt like I had good songs for. As earlier mentioned, reviews are always appreciated ;)**

**PLAYLIST**

**Naomi's little monologue: I don't trust myself with loving you -John Mayer**

**Talking to Thomas: Temporary - Rogue Wave**

**In The Bedroom: Hot Venom - Miniature Tigers**

**The talk with Katie: I Am Not a Robot - Marina and the Diamonds (thought this showed how Katie had grown up since the summer)**

**Showing up at Naomi's/The brief stay at Naomi's: Hey Hey Little Razor blade -The Pink Spiders**

**The talk by the moped: February Seven - The Avett Brothers**

**Walking into college: 40 Day Dream - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes**

**Sitting in class: Everyday (Cover) - Rogue Wave**

**Naomi's Dread: Shake it out (Weeknd Remix) - Florence + The Machine**


	10. Chapter 10

Powerless. Ever since I was little the one thing that made me afraid was feeling like I was not in control. I hate amusement parks, and planes and boats because I don't like putting my life into someone else's hands. It's why Emily makes me so nervous, she has this power over me, my feelings for her are completely out of my control. I can't protect myself around her and it scares the shit out of me because if she left... It'd ruin me. I'm completely at her mercy; staring with terror at my heart in her hands and praying fervently that she doesn't drop it. I'm hers, completely and irrevocably and it scares me to death.

So I sat with Sophia on the train to feel like I had some control over my feelings. I admittedly flirted just to prove to myself that I could and then she kissed me and immediately I felt small and powerless and all I wanted was for Emily to hold me. What started as a chance to feel like I had some power, now, ironically, led to me sitting completely powerless and with absolutely no control as she enters the room.

It felt like watching a particularly frustrating scene of a film play out. The slow motion swing and obnoxious creak of a door as the protagonist watches the murderer enter the room. But it wasn't a murderer. It was a tall, fairly lanky girl in jean shorts and a blue flannel shirt that I recognized all too well. She smiled shyly at me as she walked to the front of the classroom, Ms. Matterson just two paces behind.

"Back to your seats." The order sounded muffled, far away. As I stood up, it felt like I was moving through a thick, viscous liquid. I turned back to look at Emily and the concern in her eyes was like the first star on a dark, moonless evening. I kept my eyes locked on hers as I found my seat, her gaze somehow keeping me afloat in the overwhelming fear that was threatening to drown me. Then Sophia extended her hand, Emily blinked and shook her head slightly, then took it, causing her to turn from me. I bit my lip so hard it drew blood in that brief moment of contact as I glared daggers into Sophia's eyes, which were obviously checking out my girlfriend while she smiled that little shy grin.

"Emily." My beautiful redhead greeted, and Sophia smiled knowingly, recognition flashing in her eyes as she briefly looked up at me, disguising it as a nod.

"Sophia." She said innocently, and I only wished I could see Emily's face.

"I'm Bruno, what do you know?" The wanker beside me greeted and I glared at him.

"Clever." I said sarcastically and he slumped a little in his desk. I rolled my eyes and extended my hand. "Naomi." He shook my head and grinned.

"That your girlfriend then?" He asked and I couldn't help but blush a little bit.

"Yup." I said dismissively, staring over at her. I loved talking about Emily but really, I needed to know what Sophia was saying.

"Well she's hot. Shagged her sister. You're lucky." He chuckled and I snorted a laugh.

"Cheers."

"Class!" Ms. Matterson snapped and everyone turned to attention. For the entire lesson I tapped my fingers nervously on the desk, trying to somehow send Emily a morse code message. Look. At. Me. But she wouldn't, her eyes were on Ms. Matterson. I couldn't tell if she was being studious or if she was ignoring me but Sophia was surely doing neither. She kept giving me knowing glances all class and I eventually resigned and just stared at the board, wishing I had decided to be passionate about maths instead.

I wondered if there was an extra circle of hell where you just sit in a class, watching a clock that never changes. Between each tick there seemed to exist a small forever, each minute an infinity. I considered sending Emily a text but one boy already had gotten his phone taken away and I don't know what I could say anyway. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Each minute I felt the anxiety growing like a tumor, cancerous and deadly. I wanted nothing more than to stand up, take Emily's hand and run out of the classroom, but I knew I wouldn't and couldn't. I felt a world away from Emily, three desks, six people, it was just too much. Agony, Powerlessness, Isolation, in three words that was my hour.

The bell ringing was like every joyous things I had ever heard combined to make one beautiful, chiming, albeit shrill noise. I nearly jumped out of my seat, but then stopped. I didn't want to go over to Emily's desk and have to talk to Sophia, but yet I had to be by Emily as soon as possible or I risked combustion. I briefly created a mental picture in my head of Sophia as the devil standing over my angelic little Emily, daring me to come get her. However, the mental picture was false because I didn't factor in how truly angelic my Emily is.

"Nice to meet you." Emily said calmly to Sophia before grabbing her bag. I watched the determination in her eyes as she quickly crossed the room, took my hand and nearly ran for the hallway. As soon as we were out the door she pushed me up against the nearest locker and pulled me into a possessive kiss. Now I've spent a fair amount of time in a dictionary, and I've come to realize that word choice is key. So I say possessive; demanding someone's total attention and love. Emily was asking a question with her kiss, she needed to know that Sophia meant nothing, that I was truly hers. If her lips were possessive than mine were the epitome of affirmative.

"We're okay." I sighed once she had pulled away to take a breath. She nodded, pressing our foreheads together. She didn't need to say anything, her kiss had voiced all of her doubts and mine had silenced them.

"I love you." She said simply, snuggling into my arms for a much deserved hug. I opened my eyes in time to see Sophia rush off down the hall. With a satisfied smile I nuzzled into Emily's neck and told her:

"I love you too." We stayed like that for a few minutes before we really both had to go to class. I kissed her softly and headed off to my history class.

**Katie**

College was a bit of a bore this week, honestly. I spent every night listening to Emily talk about how _awkward_ it was sitting by this girl in her politics class but not telling me why. She said I'd get mad, which was probably right, but still. I don't like her keeping things from me. Naomi has been even more obsessed with her than usual lately, holding her hand everywhere we go and gazing at her all of the time. It's cute to a point, sure, and Emily is grinning like a psycho but the two really need to keep it in their pants. And Eff has been great but I don't know. She's so fucking mysterious and don't get me wrong, it's intriguing, sure. But it's also really fucking annoying. Luckily Cook's already found a club for us to go to tonight and Effy and I don't have to do anything so we're hanging out before.

Cook and Freddie were 'running errands' so we went over to Naomi's new flat for a spell first. I figured reluctantly that I had to get used to it, her having an open house all term definitely was convenient. Emily and her had moved all of the boxes earlier this week so she was officially sorted. Effy jogged upstairs as soon as we walked in the door and I was left alone in the foyer.

"Hello dear!" I heard a high pitched voice call and was faced with a strange blonde woman who gave me a long, affectionate hug that I found myself returning. Weird. "Couldn't find them then?"

"Pardon?" I asked and the woman frowned.

"The parsnips love, you're back early." Realization finally dawned on her as she nodded and pointed at me knowingly. "_You_ must be Katie." She giggled.

"Yes, right, sorry." I said and she waved her hand dismissively.

"Actually I'm glad it's you. Emily better have my parsnips." She kidded and then exclaimed loudly, causing me to jump. "I forgot, I'm Gina, Naomi's mum!"

"You're Naomi's mum? Seriously?" I asked, not understanding how someone so warm and happy and open could be related to _Naomi Fucking Campbell._ Gina just laughed.

"Seriously." She informed, adjusting the weight of the bowl she was carrying. "But I understand the confusion. I tell you, my Naomi used to be far more erm... Jovial, than she is now. Well, that's not right. She is rather jovial when Emily is around... She brings out the best in my little icicle."

"Ah, clever, yeah I call her the Ice Queen." I shifted feet awkwardly and cleared my throat. "Naomi has helped Emily come out of her shell a lot too." Gina grinned, the kind of smile that's so honest, so glad and proud, that it warms your heart. She gestured for me to follow her into the kitchen.

"I remember the first time I met Emily, you see, I used to offer an open house for people who didn't have a place to stay, communal living I called it. She slept over one night and oh my you should've seen the look on her face when she came down stairs. I guess Naomi had buggered off some time in the early morning, so Emily was not prepared for our house. She sat down at the table and this man, hairless fellow, sits right in front of her wearing only a leather... Well I don't know what to call it, loincloth maybe? Anyway she turned redder than her hair I swear it!" She paused as I laughed my head off, knowing exactly the face Emily would have made. "Anyway, we just had the loveliest chat, I thought she was just such a darling."

"Everyone loves Emily." I said, surprised to hear pride rather than contempt in my voice. Gina took my hand.

"You're much nicer than I was expecting." I snorted a laugh. "I mean Emily has always spoke of you very fondly, but-"

"Naomi refers to me as the toxic twin?" I finished for her and she laughed.

"Well I think you're rather wonderful." For some reason that meant the world to me.

"Katie?" I heard Effy call from upstairs.

"You're being beckoned." Gina laughed and pulled me in for a hug. "It was lovely to meet you, dear." She said with a grin.

"Likewise." I insisted, making my way upstairs. Effy and Naomi were sitting on her bed, which was all made up with the new green duvet cover.

"Finally." Effy said when I entered the room, I sat on the seat in the corner and took an inventory of the room.

"Cute alarm clock." I teased, noting the Panda on her nightstand. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Pandora gave it to me to um, what was her word choice, Eff?"

"Add a little pandessence to the room." She answered and Naomi nodded.

"Right." She agreed, and I watched her eyes catch on the picture frame next to it, a small smile on her face.

"Naomi?" I asked and she didn't respond. "Naomi?" I asked again. Eventually I stood up and picked up the frame. It was a picture of her and Emily and this weird middle aged guy, they all looked absolutely pissed but they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

"Really does just seeing her turn you stupid? What's this from?" I asked, and Naomi laughed, her eyes lighting up.

"Ems-" She stopped, eyeing me warily and started again, more formally. "Emily and I went to Blake's and the landlord, that guy, taught me the Croatian Anthem. That's the inside joke with Emily and Jaegerbombs, because every verse I memorized, he gave us free ones." She explained and Effy cracked up, I just nodded as she told the story.

"This one?" I asked, pointing to a different frame.

"Us in Bath."

"Oh no story?" I teased and she laughed, shrugging.

"I mean if you want a tale; we showed a bunch of Americans around, you know King Arthur's and Robin Hood's house. They were actually really cool." She said, lying back on the bed, her arm folded behind her head. "Done with the interrogation?"

"Never." I said with a wink and she rolled her eyes. "So why are we here without Emily?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Well Emily just left to get-"

"Parsnips yeah." I interrupted and she cocked an eyebrow. "I spoke with your mum." Her eyes widened. "She's nice, nothing like you. I have no idea how you two are related."

"Aw, sweet." Effy laughed.

"Funny, I say the same thing about you and Emily." I stuck my tongue out at her and Effy shook her head.

"Naomi play nice. You need her help." That threw me.

"What?" I asked and Effy smiled as a blush spread across Naomi's cheeks.

"It's Emily and I's six month anniversary." She said with an embarrassed smile. I crinkled my nose.

"What are you talking about? You started dating after the love ball." I corrected and Naomi turned impossibly redder, suddenly finding her duvet absolutely riveting.

"Um, well, we uh... Our first time was in March... So..." She watched as I tried to contain my laughter.

"You remember the date of the first time you two had sex?" I chuckled and she took a breath before continuing.

"Emily. Emily remembered and later on when we talked about it we agreed to mark that as when we became a 'thing'. We never really officially marked our relationship so we thought it was a perfectly fine date. So, yes, it is our sixth month." Naomi explained and I had to applaud her stoicism.

"I think it's cute." Effy said, breaking the silence, but not meeting my eyes.

"So what do you need my help for?" I asked and Naomi finally looked up and shot me a smutty grin.

"Tell your parents she's not coming home tonight." She instructed and I made a gagging noise.

"Ew. Fine. But ew." I agreed and she shrugged with a grin. "So what are you doing for my sister?" I asked and she handed me a black box. "No no no. Not a fucking chance Campbell." I demanded and she laughed.

"Oh please, Katie, open it." She urged and I lifted the lid, immediately smiling in spite of myself.

"Okay that's really cute." I resigned with an eye roll and she smiled proudly.

"Told you." Effy said, smiling at her. I heard the door open and Naomi snatched back the box, tossing it in the drawer of her nightstand, holding a finger to her lips.

"Say a word and I'll destroy you." She warned. I could hear Gina's overjoyed reaction to Emily's return and assumed that meant she had gotten the parsnips. I turned to Naomi and watched the grin on her face as Emily entered the room, immediately bouncing onto the bed and then realizing Effy and I were there.

"Oh, hello!" She greeted as she gave Naomi a frustrated glance that I assumed meant 'why didn't you tell me they were coming?' to which Naomi shrugged a 'sorry' which apparently made up for it.

"Did you find the parsnips?" Effy asked teasingly.

"Took fucking ages!" Emily groaned and Naomi stroked her back soothingly, causing Emily to lean back and into her and Naomi to wrap her arms around Emily's waist.

"Why did you get parsnips anyway?" I asked and Emily shrugged.

"I don't ask, I just do." She explained and Naomi chuckled.

"You're just a kiss ass to Gina." She teased and Emily stuck her tongue out.

"Well she is your mother."

"She'd love you even if you were a bald terrorist with gingivitis." Naomi insisted and Emily giggled.

"If that's your type, then..." Emily started to move out of Naomi's grip but she quickly pulled her back in, squeezing tightly and kissing her on the cheek.

"No." I heard Naomi faintly whisper. I immediately felt I was intruding on a private moment. I turned to Effy who was still sitting on the other side of the bed, staring at them. It was so strange, we were pretty much together but yet she was so distant. I knew part of that was my fault, I made it clear I didn't want to make it obvious that we were together, but Emily and Naomi already knew. She could at least sit near me, right? I was envious of Naomi and Emily suddenly, I mean I guess I had always been at least a little bit jealous, they seemed so at ease with each other, so comfortable. It was obvious, just looking at them you could see the love that was so clearly there. I wondered if Effy and I would ever be like that.

"You two are coming to the club, right?" Effy asked and Naomi nodded with a grin that Emily couldn't see. "Excellent. Well Katie and I are off, we'll see you two there, yeah?" Emily frowned.

"You can stay, it's really no bother?" She offered, looking up at Naomi for reassurance.

"Thank you, but we have a few things we must attend to." She said suavely, standing up quickly.

"Alright then. Bye Katie!" Emily said sweetly and I leant down and kissed her on the cheek, feeling sentimental. Occasionally Emily really seemed like my baby sister and inspired a motherly instinct in me. She would just seem so small all of a sudden and I just wanted to give her a hug and a cup of tea. Sounds fucking weird, I know, but it happens even more often when she's with Naomi.

"Have fun. Keep your hands to yourself Campbell." I warned with a wink.

"No promises." Naomi kidded, but I suppose it was the farthest thing from kidding. With that, and a long hug from Gina, we left and headed for Effy's.

Effy's room is a bit weird. It was Tony's first, I guess and she's added her own touch.

"So..." I mumbled as she skimmed through her playlists. She didn't respond for an entire two minutes as she searched her songs and I just stood there waiting. I was totally out of my element here. If Effy was a boy we'd already be shagging by now, if we hadn't already, but here I was just standing in her doorway, waiting. I'm not used to waiting. Then finally an acoustic melody filled the air and I watched as she visibly relaxed before turning to me and offering a simple, apologetic smile.

"Sorry, life has to have a soundtrack." I smiled at her cuteness and sat down on her bed as she glided around her room like she was weightless.

"So what's the plan for tonight again?" I asked, but I already knew. I just wanted her to say something.

"Well, Cook wants us all to meet at Thomas' club, the one near the grocery, around eight. So we have, she checked her watch, about two hours." I watched wide eyed as she switched shirts, finding myself stare at the perfect pale expanse of her back, oddly intrigued by her black lace bra. Then as if nothing had happened, she laid down on her bed, carelessly looking beautiful. I moved so that I was beside her and she raised her eyebrows.

"What is this?" I asked and her eyes widened.

"Are you asking me to define our relationship, Katie Fitch?" She asked and I couldn't help but smile and shake my head.

"I think so, Effy Stonem." She nodded, then leant in and kissed me softly.

"That's about all that I have figured out so far." She admitted.

"I mean... Are we... Like... Dating?" I asked and she smirked.

"We haven't been on a date." I felt my cheeks get hot, fearing rejection.

"So we're just casually hooking up?" I asked and she shrugged.

"I suppose." She said, and I sensed disappointment in her voice.

"I just want to know if there is more than that here. I can fuck any guy I want, if that's all that this is, I can find it somewhere else. I was under the impression that this mattered." I looked over at her and she was staring up at her ceiling.

"Katie you don't understand."

"What, what do I not understand?" I asked and she looked down.

"Can we talk about this later?" She begged, and I knew I couldn't say no to the pleading look in her eyes. She was tired, I knew it, so I shrugged.

"That's fine. Sorry I know this is weird for you too. Let's just nap alright?" She snuggled into my chest and within a few minutes she was asleep. I felt oddly calm, watching her beautiful and serene face. It was... nice.

Within two hours we were sweating and well drunk, close together in the midst of a hundred dancing bodies. I had danced with girls before, mainly to lure in guys, but this was different. There were tons of fit guys here but all of my attention was on her. I could feel her heart beating fast against my back and her breath on my neck and I wanted her. I really _wanted_ her. It was suddenly way too hot and way too claustrophobic in here.

"I'm going to get a drink." I shouted and she shrugged, quickly strutting in the other direction. I clenched my fists and tried to contain the tears that threatened to escape. It didn't help that as soon as I turned I saw Naomi and Emily lost in their own little world. Their dancing usually ranged from downright sex on the floor to what they were doing now; dancing closely but innocently, Naomi occasionally spinning her, both of them beaming and giggling. It was embarrassing really... And I was jealous. I wanted to be happy for them, but I just couldn't, I was too angry and hurt.

I stormed in the general direction of the bar with my head down, slamming right into someone.

"I am so sorry, it's entirely my fault!" JJ excused and then became even more worried upon realizing it was me. "Katie! Bobbins!"

"It's alright JJ." I said and he followed me to the bar, paying for my vodka tonic. "Thanks."

"Are you okay, Katie?" He asked and I felt the tears start to spill over. He coughed. "Perhaps it is a good time to grab a cigarette?" He offered, taking my hand and leading me outside. Once we were outside in the brisk air he dropped my hand, sitting next to me on the wall.

"It's Effy." I said meekly and he shrugged.

"I won't ask, but feel free to talk about it." He offered and I smiled at him.

"You're not too bad." I assured and he grinned.

"I'm aware." I thought about it for a minute and then decided that I had to talk to someone about it or I was going to explode.

"She's just so fucking mysterious all of the time. She doesn't let anyone in. It terrifies me, I don't know how I can trust her if I don't know if I even have to. I don't know if I'm stupid to think we could have something or if I'm the one who is over-questioning things." JJ was silent for a moment.

"I talked with her mother once, Anthea."

"Yeah?"

"She told me that Effy likes magic." I laughed and he smirked.

"Bet you were happy to hear that." He shook his head.

"In a way. It made me smile, I guess. Anthea knew that I did magic, because I was JJ."

"Pardon?" I asked.

"That meant that Effy had told her mum about me, which meant she had probably spoken about all of us." He explained and I smiled a little at that, not able to imagine Effy sitting at the dinner table and chatting with her parents about her friends.

"Huh." Was all I could manage.

"But no, not my kind of magic. Apparently I do the 'stupid abracadabra sort,' but no she told me a story. I won't tell it as well as she did, but apparently Effy was four when she first won at hide and seek. She hid for hours, and then when finally Anthea found her, Effy just grinned. That was the origin of the Effy smile, the 'you don't know me at all and you never will?' She's good at hiding, it makes her feel safe. It's her kind of magic." I nodded slowly. "But, she said more. Effy has so much love to give, but the thought of revealing it scares her to death. I always thought she'd end up revealing it to Freddie. But Freddie didn't take it when she offered, so now it's yours I guess."

"Doubt that." I said, still processing. JJ stood up and offered me his hand.

"Give her time. She'll come around." He promised as we walked back inside. "Just don't be afraid and hopefully she'll follow suit."

"Thank you JJ." I said, kissing him on the cheek. He blushed and rushed off to find Cook. I spotted Effy as she spoke to an indian kid and a blonde boy. I quickly pulled her into me and kissed her with every bit of confidence and emotion I could manage.

"What was that for?" Effy asked breathlessly as I pulled away.

"You. It was for you." I explained and she grinned, a new smile this time.

**Emily**

"You wanna get out of here?" Naomi asked, leaning in closely. We had gotten tired of dancing so we found a booth with Cook and Freddie. There wasn't enough room for all four of us so I was sat on Naomi's lap, not that either of us minded.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, relishing the light kisses she was placing on my shoulder.

"Perhaps it's a secret."

"Oi what are you's lezzers whispering about over there?" Cook shouted, making me jump. There was something in his smile that seemed more mischievous than usual. Naomi just grinned at him.

"Nothing of your concern, Cookie." She chuckled and squeezed my hips, alerting me that she was ready to go. I stood up and she took my hand. "Everything sorted?" She asked and Cook and Freddie smiled over the top grins.

"Yeah we're fine."

"Just fine." They said and I made sure to give them both a weird look as we turned to leave.

"What was that about?" I asked and she shrugged, working her way through the crowds. Luckily it wasn't too busy of a night.

"Nothing, they probably just assumed we were off to shag somewhere." She kidded, flashing a suggestive wink before continuing towards the door.

"Don't have to be a genius to work it out." I chuckled as we reached the door. Apparently we were leaving just in time, there was a giant line of people waiting to get in.

"Emily!" I heard a voice yell and peered down the line until I landed on the culprit. Naomi shook her head no and started to pull me in the opposite direction but it was too late. "Leaving so soon?" Sophia asked, having left her spot in line.

"You're going to lose your place." Naomi reminded her dismissively but Sophia didn't acknowledge her presence.

"How is it in there?" She asked.

"The music is great, it's about to get really crowded though." I reasoned and I could feel Naomi's discomfort.

Sophia frowned. "Why are you leaving?" I turned to Naomi and shrugged.

"Ask her, I'm just following." I laughed, holding up our hands. For the first time since she had walked up she seemed to realize Naomi was standing there. She raised an eyebrow, as if asking the question without repeating herself. I felt Naomi's grip on my hand tighten. I looked up to see her eyes were aflame.

"We're going back to mine." She stated flatly after a pointed silence. Sophia's face sunk and she shook her head before turning to me with a sad expression.

"Emily look I think you should know something-" I held up my hand.

"I do." Sophia stared at Naomi blankly.

"I-... what?" Sophia stuttered.

"I told her, as soon as it happened. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I'm in love with Emily." Naomi explained and I couldn't help but leaning against her affectionately.

"I'm so sorry, Emily. I never... I never meant for any of this to happen. I knew... But I... It didn't seem like she loved you... I thought... I don't know... I'm so sorry." She looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to tell you it's okay, but it's done. We can't change what happened so let's just forget it, yeah?" She nodded sadly and having said what I needed to, tugged on Naomi's hand. "It was nice to see you."

"You were far nicer than you needed to be, you know that right?" Naomi asked once we were far enough away. I turned to her, and stepped closer, forcing her up against the wall.

"Yes, I was nice. But if she ever makes a move on you again, I won't be." I threatened in the sexiest voice I could manage. Her wide blue eyes blinked at me with surprise.

"Duly noted."

"Because you," I whispered, pushing up against her. "Are mine." She nodded eagerly, her eyes shut tightly. I placed a slow lingering kiss on her lips before pulling away, heading in the direction of her house. She stopped me, tugging my hand back.

"Not tonight." She said with a smirk and I tilted my head.

"But you just said-"

"Do you really think I would've told her where we were going?" She laughed, pulling me into a nearby alley.

"Woah there." I cautioned, all too wary of our surroundings.

"Oh relax, what? Scared I'm going to have my wicked way with you?" She teased and I stuck my tongue out at her. Then I saw the orange beacon that is the moped.

"Uh, why is the baby here?" I asked, frowning. She laughed and pulled out the helmets that had been stashed behind the trashcan.

"Don't ask questions, just trust me." She instructed and I took the helmet from her hands with a smirk.

"With my whole heart." I assured.

"One last thing." She pulled me in for a kiss that made my knees shake, and when I pulled away I couldn't see. I reached my hands up to my eyes to feel a soft cloth.

"Did you just blindfold me?" I asked and I could hear her laugh.

"Maybe."

"Are you sure this isn't a sex thing?" I asked and she leant in closely.

"Not in the slightest, love." She whispered, nipping my earlobe lightly as she pulled away, contradicting herself. She helped me onto the moped and I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Alright hold on and don't you dare take off the blindfold." She instructed.

"Aye, aye, cap'n." I agreed and we were off. I attempted to keep track of our location by turns and stoplights but I quickly realized it was no use, she drove in circles first so I had no idea what direction we were even going. Eventually I just consigned to the occasion and nestled into her back. It was a beautiful night, not that I could see it, but you could just feel it in the air. It hadn't yet gotten cold but there was a breeze to the air that was exhilarating. It was one of those nights that just made you feel young, I held my arms out and felt the air rush past me.

After a few minutes I felt her turn onto what felt like a dirt road and it became far more hilly. I attempted to turn off my mind to keep it from generating possible places, I wanted to be surprised. It had been about thirty minutes since we had left the alley that the moped came to a halt and I heard Naomi cut the engine.

"Alright, still no peaking." She instructed as she helped me off the moped. My legs were a bit wobbly from sitting so long, not to mention having them wrapped around her. I felt the crunch of dry leaves under my feet and the light noise of water against the shore. "Although I'm sure you're aware of our location, you'll have to wait just a moment longer."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I lied with a grin, playing along with her.

"I appreciate your facade." I could hear the smile in her voice as she led me passed the water. "Okay." She said, bringing us to a stop. "Don't move." I heard the distinct click of a lighter and the smell of fire filled the air. After a few minutes I heard her sigh and mutter "okay." The next thing I felt were her fingers as they brushed against my neck as she worked to untie the knot.

It was beautiful, no, that word cannot even do justice to what I was seeing. She had found the plaid blanket we had used the first time we came here (she had claimed that she lost it) and it was laid in the midst of at least fifty tea candles, each glowing brightly. A picnic basket was sitting near the fire and so was a bag that I assumed held our pajamas and an extra blanket.

"But... How?" I asked, turning to face her. She was smiling smugly.

"I had Cook and Freddie set it up after school, I hope you don't mind. I know this is your special place."

"Our."

"Yes, our special place. I would've done it myself but I knew I couldn't get rid of you." She kidded and I felt the tears well up in my eyes. "Ems?" She asked, all playfulness out of her voice.

"Happy tears." I assured, kissing her gently but with all of the love in the world.

"You like it." She sighed, the relief evident in her voice. I sat down on the blanket and patted the space next to me, a direction she quickly followed.

"How could I not like it? It's perfect."

"I just, I really needed it to be perfect."

"Why?" I asked and she grinned.

"Because it's our six month anniversary." She reminded me and I palmed my forehead.

"I'm such a tit!" I cursed and she laughed awkwardly.

"You really didn't remember?" She asked and I stared at her apologetically but then I had to break into a grin. "Twat." She laughed as I pulled the gift out of my bag. "Jinx." She chuckled as she pulled out the box from Saturday. We set them down in front of us on the blanket.

"I have a confession."

"Yes?"

"I wasn't actually tutoring Katie on Tuesday, I was buying that. Sorry." I apologized and she laughed.

"It's alright, I kind of figured." She shrugged, wrapping an arm around me. I leant my head on her shoulder.

"Six months." I said aloud, feeling the grin spread across my face.

"Six months." She repeated, turning to kiss me softly. "Wanna do blowbacks?" She offered and I laughed against her lips.

"That was only an excuse to get you close to me." I admitted and she gasped.

"Oh really?" She asked sarcastically. "Well I'm glad you did."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I think it went pretty well."

"How did it go again?" I asked and she held up a spliff with a grin. She lit it and took a deep drag. We moved so that we were facing each other. "Meh no thanks, I'm all seeing, I know it's shit." I said sarcastically, imitating her.

"Everything once." She insisted, bringing the burning end to her lips and tenderly pulling me in. I inhaled slowly, then blew the smoke into the air and she followed suit.

"This is the part where you kissed me." I reminisced and she stubbed out the spliff. Slowly, hesitantly, she leant in, capturing my lips in a gentle kiss. After a moment I moved to kiss her neck, then pulled away.

"Say something." She whispered.

"I'm all about experiments, me." I then moved to remove her shirt, biting my lip. Mine followed soon after. I moved so that I was laying on top of her and started kissing my way down her chest.

"Not this time, Emily." She insisted, flipping us over. She gently kissed my neck and then locked eyes with me as she slid off my skirt. I braced myself for her touch but felt it on my cheek instead. "I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"I love you too, Naoms." I promised and she smiled.

"Sorry just felt like it needed to be said." She said with an embarrassed laugh. She then looked down and her gaze turned sultry. "Where were we?" I crashed our lips together and quickly found her tongue just as her fingers worked their way down to my knickers.

She held me tightly as I came down, kissing my neck and brushing the hair from my eyes, every touch full of more love than I had ever imagined.

"Open it." I urged once we had put on our jumpers, it was starting to get a bit chilly. She grinned childishly as she pulled the ribbon. "It's kind of a two-part gift." I warned and she nodded.

"For the moped?" She asked, holding up the keychain.

"For your house key." I explained.

"It's a Jackson Pollock isn't it?" She asked and I nodded. She had a Rothko print above her bed so I found a (very) small Pollock print made for keys. "I have no clue how you found it but I love it." She insisted, kissing me on the cheek. She unwrapped it a little more and her face lit up. "Ems." She breathed, looking at me disbelievingly. It was a shirt for Battlefront, the website for young campaigners that she loved. "Where did you even find it?"

"I had to special order it a few weeks ago." I admitted and she kissed me chastely.

"I love it, really, thank you." She hesitantly handed me the black box, watching me closely as I opened it. Within was a simple key. I looked up at her and she smiled shyly, taking a deep breath. "Ems, Emily, I want you to live with me."

**Playlist**

Naomi's Monologue: The Modern Leper - Frightened Rabbit and Blindsided - Bon Iver

Waiting for class to end: Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie

Naomi seeing the picture frame: The Very Thought of You - Frank Sinatra

Keffy discussing their relationship: If you feel the same way - Cartel

Keffy dancing: Toes - LIGHTS

Katie talking to JJ: Stand Too Close - Motion City Soundtrack

Naomi/Emily talking to Sophia: My Blood - Ellie Goulding

On the moped: Times - JJ

Sexy time: Phenomenons - Twin Sister

Exchanging gifts: No such thing as time - Elenowen


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone! Congrats to Kathrynplove for knowing the contents of the box! Who else knew it was a key? You are all far too clever. I know a few of you were expecting a Fitch Bitch moment towards Sophia but I thought it just would've been kind of unprovoked, you know? And you have to remember that Emily had sat next to her for a week and obviously discovered the girl wasn't a bitch (In fact I kind of really pity Sophia) BUT I'm not saying there won't be one ;) In other news! GAH we finally have pictures of Naomily in skins fire! Anyone else freaking out? I personally think Naomily will be fine. That might just be desperate wishful thinking because I don't think I'd survive if Skins crushed Naomily once and for all but I don't know that's just me, Naomily fans make up like half of the fandom. I think the 'tragedy' that forces her to come home is more Effy related than Naomi. Please share your theories! I'll post the ones I like on the next chapter ;) **

It was too soon. I knew it as soon as I said the words, saw the surprise on her face. I should've just given her the key and left it at that but oh shit I scared her. This is the moment, this is when she finds out that I care more, more than she ever imagined. This is when the entire power balance shifts and she sees me for the lovestruck coward that I am and it's all fucked and-

"Yes!" I could actually feel my jaw drop.

"Pardon?" She giggled, happy tears flooding her eyes and a face-splitting grin on her face.

"I mean it'll be complicated, what with my parents and all, but of course! This'll be a dream." She insisted and I immediately stood up and swept her into my arms.

"I love you." I murmured, relishing the feeling of her in my arms.

"I love you too." She said, snuggling even closer to me.

The next morning we woke up early so we could get everything ready for tonight. We wanted to surprise Mum and Kieran with a goodbye dinner, well it was Emily's idea really, of course, but of course that made it 'we'. She had spoken to my Mum earlier in the week and found out they were getting last minute supplies today so they would be out of the house, she's a clever one.

But first, just my luck, we had to stop by her house. I sat on the moped watching her as she walked up to her house, admiring the view, but of course life had to fuck me over.

"Emily!" Her dad beckoned from the garage. "Ah Naomi came too! Come here for a moment girls!" Emily gave me an apologetic look as we made our way over to him hand in hand.

"Yeah Dad?" Emily asked warily. Rob smiled at me manically.

"Just checking up, making sure my little girl is alright!" He shot me a look, that creepy crazed look in his eyes. "You alright?"

"Of course." Emily insisted.

"Katie said you were sleeping over at Effy's." He said pointedly and Emily swallowed and looked at me nervously. She was the _worst_ on the spot liar and she would just get us in trouble.

"Oh we all did, Pandora too, but we left pretty early. My mum leaves tomorrow so Emily wanted to surprise her." I explained and Emily squeezed my hand in thanks. Rob nodded, looking almost disappointed.

"Ah I see. Sorry for doubting you, but you know how your mum gets. Mrs. Fitch is very worrisome, Naomi." He laughed and I managed a tight smile. "Well you girls go on inside, sorry for keeping you." I nearly groaned, knowing this meant I had to go inside.

"I'm so sorry!" Emily whispered once we were inside and I shrugged. "Mum?" She called with no answer. She grinned up at me. "Excellent." We made our way upstairs and into her room. I was still very creeped out by the thong donning My Little Ponies but Emily's side of the room wasn't too bad. She had put up tons of pictures of us and little mementos from various dates.

"Oh God, you put this one up?" I asked, noting the Texas Chainsaw Massacre ticket stub taped to the wall. She cracked up.

"It was an eventful trip to the cinema." She explained with a shrug, plopping down on her bed.

"When's Katie getting home?" I asked, feeling her eyes boring into me as I continued looking around the room.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Jenna?"

"She's at work." I cleared my throat.

"James?"

"He slept over at Gordon's." I turned to see she'd already taken off her top.

"Emily what are you doing?" I hissed, feeling my face turn red.

"Changing." She laughed innocently and I shook my head. "Just gonna stand there?" She asked and I rolled my eyes as I sat on the very edge of the bed. She moved my hair to one shoulder, kissing my neck softly.

"Your dad could walk in any minute." I reminded her.

"Mhm." She mumbled, sliding my shirt off my shoulder and kissing the newly exposed skin.

"Emily-"

"You know I've never had sex with you in my bed before?" She asked and I swallowed audibly.

"Uh, yes I'm aware."

"Interesting." She chuckled, standing up and walking over to her closet. I laid back on her bed with a groan.

"You're _such_ a tease." I complained and she giggled. I suddenly felt an Emily Fitch heavier. "Can I help you?" I asked, staring wide eyed at the girl suddenly on top of me.

"What if I said I'm here to redeem my reputation?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"As a tease?" I mocked and she smirked.

"I was hoping to get rid of that notoriety." She explained.

"Seriously?" I asked and she nodded. "No I mean it, if you're not going to put out get to fuck." I kidded and she frowned.

"Cheers."

"I'm kidding, Ems." I assured, kissing her lovingly. It took a moment but she eased into it. "We really don't have to." She kissed me softly.

"I mean there are things we kind of have to talk about." She reminded me and I nodded. "What are we doing next year, Naomi?" She asked. I closed my eyes so she couldn't see the indecision in them.

"I want to be with you. I know that. I can't imagine not holding you, not kissing you, not being with you like this," I pulled her closer for effect. "But I want to go to University and I don't want either of us to do anything just because the other person is."

"So that's a no to the gap year, then?" She asked and I closed my eyes. The idea of getting away with Emily, of escaping Bristol and England and just going, exploring, being together... I would do anything. I would go anywhere. But I don't want to put my future on hold.

I looked down at Emily, patiently waiting for my answer, and realized either way I choose I'd be putting my future on hold.

"Not yet." I promised and she grinned. "What did you have in mind?" She bit her lip guiltily. "Oh no." I groaned and she stood up, reaching under her bed and unearthing a box of brochures.

"I was kind of thinking Goa." She admitted. If I had a cup of water I would've done a spit take.

"India?" I asked and she nodded meekly. "Well then?"

"What?"

"Sell it to me, then." I urged and she grinned.

An hour and a very heated snog later it was pretty much decided, if we decided to take a gap, it'd be to Goa.

"Naomi!" James yelled and I cringed. He sauntered into the room in a tight dress, smiling seductively. "How do you like my new number?"

"It's, uh, it's lovely, James. Did you make it?" I asked, earning a grin from Emily.

"No it's Katie's."

"Even better." I joked and he laughed.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"No!"

"Yes." Emily and I answered at the same time, then looked at each other challengingly.

"Were you shagging?" He asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

"No!" Emily exclaimed.

"Unfortunately." I added earning a jab in my side from Emily.

"So last night was your six month, then?" He asked, moving right along.

"Yup." Emily answered, and I could tell she was getting perturbed. Suddenly James turned serious and sat on Katie's bed, posing menacingly.

"Emily, darling, could you be a doll and grab some biscuits from downstairs? Naomi and I need to talk." Emily rolled her eyes and moved to get off the bed. I grabbed her wrist.

"No!" I mouthed and she chuckled, leaning in for a quick kiss before skipping out of the room.

"Don't be too tough on her, James." She requested from the hallway. James closed the door behind her and then put his hands on his hips.

"Naomi."

"James?"

"You hurt her, I'll kill you." He informed and I couldn't help but crack up. The poor little guy looked offended.

"James you're in a skirt, you don't exactly look the picture of intimidation." I explained and he frowned.

"I'm serious!" He reiterated, stomping his foot for effect. I still kept laughing. Suddenly, he shed his dress, leaving him topless with a pair of athletic shorts.

"Woah there." I said, a bit uncomfortable with Emily's teenage little brother standing in front of me half-clothed.

"Can you take me seriously now?" He asked and I realized how much he meant it, so I nodded respectfully. "Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Like really proper love her?"

"Yes I really do, James." I insisted and he groaned.

"You complicate things then."

"How do you mean?"

"Katie's lovers," I cringed at his word choice. "Never tend to stick around long enough for there to be any lasting damage. And Emily's only ever had two boys over."

"Pardon?" I asked, feeling a tinge of fear. Was there something Emily hadn't told me?

"JJ took her to the ball last year, silly. I wish I could've been there but I was at Gordon's, we smoked fags!" He exclaimed and I shook my head.

"And the other one?" I asked and he smirked.

"I think she was thirteen, maybe fourteen? Katie invited a boy over and the boy brought a friend. I saw them snogging!" I realized I had never asked who Emily's first kiss was, I had just figured it was me.

"Ah." Was all I managed.

"I mean it." James insisted once we heard Emily coming up the steps. "I've done my fair share of reps on the naughty bar, I could take you." He warned. Emily opened the door and stared quizzically at her topless brother before shrugging and setting the tray of tea and biscuits on her nightstand.

"Have a nice chat?" She asked.

"Yeah, I know all of the details on lesbian sex now." He said quickly, grabbing his tea and half of the biscuits and quickly running out of the door. Emily shot me a look.

"Pardon?"

"He's kidding." I insisted and she calmed a bit.

"What should I wear tonight?" She asked, surveying her blouse and jeans in the mirror. I licked my lips as she pulled down her jeans and kicked them to Katie's side of her room.

"That, please." I requested, enjoying her blouse and knickers. She teasingly undid a few of the buttons, enough to expose her new bra. "Fuck you." I groaned and she sat on the bed.

"Please?" She joked, kissing me tenderly before grabbing her cup of tea.

"But I do have a question."

"Yeah?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Who was your first kiss?" I asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Fuck. He mentioned that?" She groaned and set down her mug. "This guy Katie invited over. Our parents were out and we were supposed to be watching James. Her and his friend started snogging on the couch and the other guy-"

"Name?" I asked, clenching my fists a little.

"Matty."

"That kid whose been held back all of those times?" I asked, a little shocked.

"Yeah." She admitted and I felt a little better. Matty was absent and failed so many times that he was in the same Year as his little brother Nick.

"Go on."

"He wanted to know what my room looked like."

"So."

"I took him up here and he kissed me."

"That all?" She rolled her eyes at me.

"You already know how I lost my virginity-"

"No need to address it." I insisted, holding up my hand and she giggled, kissing me gently, but pushing me back onto the bed and quickly moving on top of me. "So I take it you're not still hung up on him?" She quickly pulled away and looked at me, shock in her eyes.

"Oh no, this is all just me trying to get over him."

"Ha-ha."

"He's a looker, Naoms. I don't know how I ever let him get away."

"Stop."

"It was so romantic, he just leant in and then immediately pushed his tongue into my mouth. So sweet." I suddenly flipped her onto her back, surprising her. "First time being groped too!" She kidded, enjoying seeing me get jealous.

"How was that?" I asked as I pinned her arms down so she couldn't move.

"So great. You know I have a thing for over-eager sloppy grabbing." She laughed and I smiled mischievously, turning so that I was on my side. She raised an eyebrow and I delicately ran a finger down her chest, watching her breath catch. I grinned, knowing that I could make Emily crazy with the lightest of touches.

"I beg to differ."

"Yeah?" She asked and I placed a slow, lingering kiss on her pulse point.

"That's just not your style."

"Really? What's my technique then?" Her voice was slightly breathless as I unbuttoned her top and kissed the newly exposed skin.

"Sweet," I kissed her nose. "Deft," I slowly kissed her cheek. "Tender," I placed a gentle kiss on her lips as I unbuttoned the rest of her blouse. "But passionate." I kissed her neck, making sure to blow on the now heated skin just a bit in the way that always made Emily shiver. "Sexy," I lightly bit her neck, causing her to gasp as I kissed my way down her body, stopping at her inner thigh. "It's beautiful." I assured, pulling down her knickers.

"That was..."

"Hm?" I teased, watching Emily come down. She pulled me in for a gentle kiss.

"There aren't words." She sighed, shaking her head. I moved her bangs off of her forehead and placed a soft kiss in their place. "That might've been the best sex I've ever had."

"Really?" I asked, feeling a bit proud. "Better than JJ then?" I joked and she glared at me.

"Don't ruin the moment, Campbell." I held my hands up in surrender.

"So I take it you meant that was my personal best?" I asked and she chuckled.

"Sure." She laughed, snuggling into my arms.

"I love you." I reminded her and she nuzzled my neck.

"I know." I could feel her smile against my skin and pulled her closer. I heard someone fumbling with the door and instinctually pulled the duvet over our heads. The door swung open and someone fell onto Katie's bed.

"Eff!" Katie scolded- make that two someones.

"Sorry." Effy apologized halfheartedly. They were obviously snogging on Katie's bed and I brought my finger to my lips to quiet Emily's laughter. "Wait Emily's moped was outside."

"Her and Campbell probably went to that park or something. You know how they are."

"I think it's cute." At this Katie pulled away.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just that it's nice."

"This is nice. Isn't it?" Katie challenged and Effy hesitated a moment.

"It's lovely. They're probably doing the exact same thing on a swing set somewhere."

"In front of a bunch of little kids." Katie chuckled. I restrained Emily as she moved to defend us.

"I always saw them getting together, from the very beginning."

"And us?"

"No, I thought you were annoying as fuck." Effy teased and Emily laughed before quickly covering her mouth. Katie had been too busy complaining to hear it.

"What are you doing?' Katie asked after a moment. Suddenly I felt Effy jump on Emily's bed.

"I thought I heard a husky giggle." Effy teased jumping on her knees so the bed rocked until I threw off the duvet.

"Perverts!" Katie accused, turning bright red.

"You're the ones who rushed in here without even knocking!" I defended.

"That's an interesting fashion statement, Ems." Effy smirked, eyeing Emily's totally unbuttoned blouse and I was very glad I hadn't taken off her bra and that she'd pulled her knickers back on afterwards, just seeing Effy look at her clothed made me fume.

"Yeah well, to each his own, yeah?" She chuckled, buttoning back up her shirt.

"Don't change on my accord." Effy flirted before ruffling my hair. "Just kidding, Campbell."

"Sure of that?" I asked challengingly but she just laughed it off, climbing off of the bed and laying across Katie's lap.

"Cook wants us to go to Thommo's tonight, you guys in?" Effy offered and I looked down at Emily, who shrugged.

"We can go after dinner?" She suggested and I nodded my agreement.

"Sounds excellent." There was an awkward silence for a few minutes seeing as none of us really knew what to do. I stroked Emily's back as she cuddled back into me. "So... Are you two like... Together?" Katie looked at Effy expectantly.

"Suppose." Katie answered with a shrug and a meaningful glance at me. I recognized the comment and immediately made a note to ask her.

_It was a few nights after the Love Ball and Freddie had been the one to arrange an outing. We were all sat at a booth in some overcrowded club that was far from our scene._

_"I'm uh, I'm sorry about this. Karen said it was the 'place to be' but, well." He gestured to the posh girls and boys around us who were giving us a mix of pervy and judgmental glances. Emily was tucked into my side and holding my hand secretly under the table._

_"I need a drink." I announced, having downed my vodka tonic a moment before. I stood up and then raised my eyebrows at Emily who had remained seated. "You coming or what?" I asked and she smirked, following me to the bar. We stood between a well dressed couple snogging each other's faces off and two girls talking intimately. One of the girls had strawberry blonde hair and was dressed gorgeously, as if she had just stepped off a runway. The other girl had blonde hair with random blue streaks in it and was dressed a bit more dynamically, with combat boots and torn jeans, she was playing with the other's hand._

_"Sorry I didn't know if you were trying to get away." Emily explained and I felt that gnawing guilt in my stomach._

_"Emily, I've told you, I want to be with-"_

_"Hey there." The well dressed girl interrupted, I was surprised to hear an American accent. "Buy you a drink?" She offered, ignoring me completely._

_"Your girlfriend doesn't look too happy." Emily chuckled and I looked over to see the other girl seething._

_"Oh she's not my girlfriend, not exactly my type, just looking for a bit of entertainment. You see I'm visiting my cousin, I just got here earlier this afternoon. I'm Annie."_

_"Emily!" She introduced, shaking her hand. She gestured to me. "This is my... This is uh..." She fumbled, obviously trying to gauge how I would react to her calling me her girlfriend._

_"Naomi." I quickly answered, catching the faintest bit of a frown on Emily's lips._

_"You're American?" Emily asked and Annie nodded happily._

_"Yeah I'm from Seattle!"_

_"Oh cool!" Emily exclaimed, and I assumed she really didn't know anything about Seattle, she just wanted to be nice._

_"Thanks, yeah I'm visiting now but I might come for school. I haven't really decided."_

_"Where would you go to school?" Emily asked, and I heard the other girl finally huff and storm away. Annie smirked, watching her walk away for a moment before turning back to Emily._

_"Roundview?" She said, as if she wasn't sure of the name._

_"Really? We go there!" Annie's eyes lit up._

_"Well how convenient." _

_"Who did you say your cousin was?" I asked and she reluctantly looked over at me._

_"I didn't. Her name is Abigail."_

_"Stock?" I asked and she nodded proudly._

_"Do you know her?" Emily asked, looking up at me. _

_"She's that girl that fucked Effy's brother." I laughed and Annie's eyes narrowed._

_"He strung her along." She defended and I rolled my eyes._

_"Oh please she knew he had a girlfriend and still tried it, then took advantage of him after his accident, it was fucked up, that."_

_"You're being really rude." Annie observed and I glared at her._

_"She's just honest." Emily defended me and I smiled in spite of myself, but hid it behind my drink._

_"Yeah well she can keep her opinions to herself, Abigail may be annoying as hell but she is my cousin. I take it that's not your natural hair color?" She kidded and Emily chuckled a bit awkwardly._

_"Not exactly. Katie and I-" Emily pointed over at our friends. Annie's eyes widened upon seeing her twin. "Decided to do it at the start of college."_

_"You have a twin." Annie stated disbelievingly._

_"So it appears." Emily chuckled, Annie smirked at her as the bartender handed her two drinks._

_"Sexy." She took a long sip of her drink and slid the other one towards Emily. Emily looked at me questioningly and I waved my hand dismissively, it was just a drink._

_"Holy shit what is this?" Emily asked staring into her drink happily._

_"Absolutly Horny." Emily practically spat out her drink and Annie laughed._

_"Pardon?"_

_"99 Bananas, vodka, whiskey, peach Schnapps, and cranberry and pineapple juice." She explained and Emily chuckled._

_"Interesting name."_

_"Interesting girl." Annie flirted and Emily turned bright red. I was torn, honestly. I was the one who hadn't said she was my girlfriend. Emily wasn't flirting. But I wanted to punch this girl in the face. "So have you two been friends for long?" She asked innocently. I clenched my fists. Emily raised her eyebrows with a smirk, daring me to answer the question._

_"We met in Secondary School." I answered, thinking it was a safe bet._

_"Ahh I see. Is that like middle school?" She asked._

_"Kind of. We start College at sixteen, so it's like middle school and the first little part of high school." Emily explained and Annie nodded thankfully. _

_"Well, um, could I get your number? I don't really know anyone here." Annie asked writing her name and number twice on a napkin and then tearing it in half, handing one to both of us. _

_"Sure." Emily smiled, writing down both of ours. I grinned at her remembering my number, although she paused on the middle digits. Annie took a deep breath and smiled sheepishly._

_"Do you, uh, would you want to get out of here?" She asked. Emily's eyes widened and she blushed._

_"Holy shit." I blurted and Annie looked confused. "Are you fucking serious?" I asked._

_"What?" She asked, looking a little hurt._

_"Um, Annie, I'm flattered, but you see-"_

_"She's my girlfriend. We're together." I emphasized and Annie's eyes went wide and she turned bright red._

_"No shit! I am so so so sorry I honestly didn't know. Fuck this is embarrassing. I really didn't know..." Her rushed apology was so sincere I knew she couldn't have been lying._

_"It's um, it's fine, really. We hadn't really put a label on it..." I explained, trying to be nice. Annie took a long sip of her drink and reclaimed her composure._

_"Well, Naomi I'm sorry for flirting with your girl, I really didn't know. And Emily, well, it was a pleasure to meet you." She grinned and walked off. Emily turned to me and raised an eyebrow._

_"Shut up." I groaned, leading her back over to the table. It wasn't until we got there that I realized the shocked faces of our friends were due to me holding Emily's hand._

_"Wait so you two are together?" JJ asked._

_"Officially?" Freddie added. Katie glared at me as I said:_

_"I suppose."_

I had actually seen Annie in the halls, I guess she decided to go to Roundview after all, however Emily had said nothing about it and Annie avoided me at all costs.

"If you say one word about double dates or twin swapping I will kill you." Katie warned and I smirked.

"Aw, Katiekins, I'm endeared but you're simply not my type." I kidded and Katie glared at me.

"Can I still borrow Emily?" Effy asked and Katie smacked her arm. I tightened my arms protectively around Emily.

"Watch yourself, Stonem."

"Your girlfriend's got that covered." She teased, cocking an eyebrow. I looked down to check if she was lying and found that Emily had fallen asleep.

"Lazy cow." Katie groaned and I grinned at the way Emily was so sweetly snuggled into my side.

"No she's just worn out. It was an eventful morning." I grinned smuttily and Katie wrinkled her nose.

"Not necessary." She scolded. I rested my head on Emily's and soon drifted off myself.

**A bit shorter of a chapter I'm sorry. I leave in a few days for a week-long volunteer opportunity so it'll be a bit til I update, so I HAD to finish this one before I left. Review review review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, it's been a bit busy around here. SKINS FIRE ON MONDAY OH MY GOD GUYS LIKE WHAT I CANT. I'm going to try to have the next chapter up ASAP but then again if ANYTHING goes wrong with naomi and Emily on Monday I cannot promise enough mental stability to manage it. Thanks for reading, please review!**

"I have to say I never saw that coming." I heard Naomi whisper after a long laugh that did a sterling job of waking me up.

"Sh, you'll wake up Emily." Effy warned and I grinned, though it was hidden under the blankets. "Neither did I."

"I mean when did you even know? That you were into Katie, I mean."

"It wasn't like it just hit me, it was kind of gradual I think." Effy explained.

"Speak of the devil, where'd she run off to?"

"Who knows. She rarely stops moving."

"Amen." Naomi chuckled. There was a pause as Naomi placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"Are you aware of the way you two look at each other?" Effy asked and I felt Naomi stiffen.

"Pardon?"

"It's lovely, really." Effy insisted and Naomi laughed.

"Oh you're taking the piss."

"No really. I should thank you."

"For what exactly?"

"Proving me wrong." Effy explained.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Eff."

"I thought love was bollocks, useless. I'd only ever seen it hurt people. But last year I saw the way Emily looked at you, right from the start."

"While I ignored her and pushed her away like she was the plague."

"No."

"No?"

"I saw the way you looked at her when you thought no one was looking." I swear I could feel Naomi blushing.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. And then you two got together and I realize that love doesn't have to be all bad."

"I asked her to move in with me, Effy."

"I know." Naomi sat up quickly, causing me to fall onto the pillow. I was about to open my eyes and complain but she swiftly readjusted and gently pulled me back into her.

"How did you know?" She asked, a little out of breath.

"Cook."

"He told everyone, didn't he?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Wanker."

"Yeah." I smiled at their back and forth, neither of them are exactly ladies of many words.

"So do you love her?" Naomi asked after a bit.

"I don't know."

"Elaborate."

"I think I could, maybe. You got lucky with Emily. She was so open and she got under your skin and you suddenly had two options; love her or leave her, but really there was only one choice. With Katie it's not like that. I don't know how she feels or what she wants and she's confused too and it's all a bit of a headfuck." Naomi stroked my hair affectionately as Effy spoke.

"I guess I understand that."

"She said yes then?" Effy asked. I liked how they didn't drone on about a subject, they spoke about it and then moved on. Katie and I could talk for hours about one thing and get nowhere, perhaps only make it worse.

"Yeah." I could hear Naomi's smile in her voice. "It'll be complicated, of course. She doesn't really want to have to tell her parents, but she practically lives with me now so it's kind of just official."

"What about after college?"

"She wants to take a gap year."

"And you?"

"I don't know what I want."

"Yes you do."

"Huh?"

"Her."

"Okay yeah but I want a future too, Effy, and so much can happen in a year. I don't want to put my life on hold for her only for her to leave me behind."

"You realize you can have both; Emily and Uni."

"I hope so."

"What do _you_ want to do after college, Eff? You don't say much about it."

"Uni, maybe Cardiff. I want to go into business, stocks perhaps."

"Tony went to Cardiff, right?"

"Yeah." I could hear the sadness in Effy's voice.

"When was the last time you saw him, Eff?" I heard the blanket move as she shrugged.

"It's been a while. He doesn't like coming home."

"Can't you visit him?"

"Technically." Suddenly the door opened.

"Oh fuck not Katie too!" James groaned. Naomi and Effy started cracking up, the tension immediately dissipating.

"Sorry, James, is it?" Effy asked.

"Yeah, and you?"

"Effy."

"You're a lesbian?"

"No."

"You're dating my sister."

"Yeah."

"So you're a lesbian."

"Not necessarily."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm Effy."

"Fucking hell."

"Yeah." Naomi laughed.

"There goes my chances of having a brother in law." James pouted.

"You could just marry a boy?" Naomi offered.

"Sorry I don't like dick!" He countered.

"Sorry your sisters don't either." Effy chuckled.

"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Katie _loves_ dick! I know I've heard her up here with boys!" He whined.

"Fair enough."

"And I've heard Katie talking about how much of a slut you are." He giggled.

"Yeah, what have you heard?" Effy challenged.

"Oh Freddie, oh Cook! I'm so hot and aloof, everyone wants me!" He imitated. I stretched out and finally decided to enter the world of the living.

"Don't be a dick James." I scolded.

"Oh sorry, I forgot no one in here likes dicks." I smiled at his joke and he grinned at me.

"So Effy." He said turning his attention.

"Good morning." Naomi quickly interjected, kissing me softly.

"Yes James?"

"Do you actually like Katie or is it just because Emily is taken?" Effy furrowed her brow.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because Katie is a bitch."

"And Emily?" Naomi asked. James smiled at me.

"I used to hate her. But now we're cool."

"What changed?" Effy asked.

"Well, Gordon has a huge crush on her and so I started being nicer to her and then I found out she's actually really fucking A."

"Gordon has a crush on me?" I asked, a bit grossed out.

"Oh yeah. He took that photo of you and Katie in Paris off of your night stand." I looked over to see that he was right, the picture was missing.

"James what the fuck?" I asked.

"I can't tell him no, he could beat me."

"Just get it back will you? Ugh that's so pervy." I groaned and James laughed.

"You can't blame him, Em." Naomi kidded and I elbowed her.

"Boys will be boys." James shrugged and Effy laughed. "Well I'm off to Gordon's." He turned to leave. "Emily you don't happen to have any knickers that you no longer-"

"Fuck off James!" Naomi snapped and he chuckled as he left the room.

"So _that's_ the infamous James Fitch. Wow." Effy commented. I shook my head apologetically.

"He's a character."

"Well I'll say." She agreed. There was a knock at the door.

"Whatever it is, no James!" I shouted.

"What the fuck?" Katie asked.

"Katie, why did you knock?" I questioned, a bit confused.

"Effy's still here?"

"Yeah?" Effy said.

"Oh I kind of thought you'd have left, I didn't want to walk in on you two shagging." Katie explained.

"Where were you?" Effy asked. Katie put down her purse.

"I got us dinner for tonight, Mum and Dad will be out so I thought I'd cook." I burst out laughing.

"You're going to cook?"

"Fuck off, I can cook."

"Yeah, cereal." I teased, Katie's eyes narrowed.

"That sounds nice." Effy managed, though she looked skeptical.

"Speaking of dinner, we best be off Em." Naomi advised, and I glanced at the time. Gina and Kieran would be home within the hour.

"True." I agreed as I followed Naomi out of bed.

"Remember we're going out tonight, yeah? Thommo has his gig." Katie reminded.

"Yeah I know?"

"So bring a change of clothes...?" Katie explained and I nodded understandingly. I turned to look in my closet and realized I had no clue. Katie quickly pushed past me and within thirty seconds threw me an outfit. "There you go. Now shoo."

"Love you too, sis!" I groaned.

"Whatever." She cackled and I saw Naomi mouth 'Good luck' at Effy.

"Emily, I love you, but your sister still scares me to death." Naomi admitted as we left my house.

"Me too, babes, me too."

**Naomi**

"Emily, dear, can you come work for us as our private chef?" Mum begged and Kieran nodded his head in agreement. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you thinking of studying culinary in Uni?" Kieran asked.

"Uh, no Kieran, doubtful." Emily laughed.

"Well what do you want to study dear?" Mum asked. I suddenly became acutely aware that I didn't know the answer to this question.

"Either publishing or photography, I think. I'd love to go to New York for a year or two." I looked at her, a bit shocked.

"Really?" I blurted out and she looked a bit hurt.

"Yeah." She answered, smiling tightly.

"Emily that's wonderful, sounds very exciting." Mum exclaimed, patting Emily's hand.

"A girl with a plan." Kieran gave me a look. "Where do you think you want to study?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure, actually. It's just about impossible to get into the University of the Arts in London, but I'll probably apply. My mum wants me to look at Goldsmiths and Cardiff though."

"Naomi is looking at Goldsmiths!" Mum screeched excitedly.

"I know." Emily nodded, but I knew she didn't like thinking of the Open Day and the kiss that went with it.

"Well you just let me know if you need any help with the applications. I am an education figure, you know." Kieran chuckled and Emily smiled at him.

"Thanks, really."

"So are you two all packed?" I asked and they smiled dopily at each other.

"Just about, we're going to finish up here and then off to bed, our flight is bloody early tomorrow."

"Fuckin' five AM." Kieran muttered and Gina glared at him. Emily laughed at the exchange.

"I think we're going out tonight." I informed.

"Oh, really?" Mum looked hurt.

"It's important."

"Important?" Kieran asked.

"Yeah our friend Thomas arranged the whole thing." Emily explained.

"We'll be here to see you off tomorrow, don't worry."

"Let us know if you need us to pick up any last minute things." Emily added and I laced our fingers together under the table. She really was just so thoughtful. Ugh what the fuck is wrong with me?

"Oh thank you dears." Mum grinned. "You two get ready we'll clean up."

"No Gina, we can-"

"Emily, you cooked a lovely dinner, Kieran and I will clean up. You two go have fun." She insisted and I only sort of had to tug Emily's arm to get her to come. As we walked upstairs I got a glance of Gina and Kieran dancing in the kitchen and caught myself smiling.

I grinned as I stepped out of the bathroom. I wore black pants and a black tank top, coupled with a black headband it was reminiscent of the 1920's movie stars from the movies we watched with a little modern grunge. Emily had on a Mint green slip over a blue dress with these red boots that I assumed were Katie's.

"Well fuck me." Emily exclaimed, setting down her book.

"Later, love, later." I laughed and leant down for a kiss.

The club was absolutely packed, and it seemed to be primarily Roundview kids. It seemed like everywhere I turned I saw someone I knew. Thomas gave us these drink cards so we didn't even have to pay, it was wicked. I was fairly plastered, had my beautiful girlfriend on my lap, and all of my mates around me. It was an excellent evening.

"Up for a drinking game, anyone?" Cook offered and the group groaned.

"Last time this happened I ended up kissing you." Emily complained.

"What are you talking about?" Cook asked, feigning confusion.

"You beat Naomi and you got to kiss me." Emily explained. Cook moved around and knelt next to us, as if he couldn't hear her correctly.

"Emily I have no idea what you're talking about." Cook admitted, throwing up his hands. Emily frowned, trying to find words. Suddenly he grinned smuttily. "You're going to have to remind me." She shoved him playfully.

"You'll be mine someday, Red!" He announced, clutching his chest.

"Get in line." A girl laughed as she sat at the booth next to ours, it was Sophia.

"No way girl, I'm ahead of you!" Cook argued.

"Um, I believe I hold rank over you Cook." JJ interrupted but was ignored.

"Who are you anyway?" Cook asked, hanging over the seat so he could speak with her. It was a funny sight to see, Sophia looked nice and composed while Cook's clothes were disheveled and he was soaked in sweat, from the dancing and the drugs.

"Sophia Moore, you're James Cook, right?"

"The infamous." He chuckled happily. Emily looked at me nervously and I just shrugged. I didn't exactly know what I was supposed to do in this situation so as per the usual I just tried my very best not to act and to seem unfazed. "How do you know Red here?" He asked.

"She's in my Politics class." Sophia explained.

"So you're a lezzer too then?" Cook inquired bluntly, toying with her hair. Sophia closed her eyes and exhaled, as if she were trying not to get annoyed.

"Yes, I'm gay."

"So you're into Emily, not Naomi then?" He asked.

"I didn't say that." Emily stiffened on my lap.

"Ooh! A plot twist!" Cook shouted excitedly, turning back to our table for a moment.

"So who would your rather bone?" He asked loudly. Sophia looked horribly embarrassed, I almost felt bad for her.

"Um, I..."

"Hey come on it's not a hard question... Actually it totally is that's difficult. They're both fit obviously. I tried to bone Naomi for _so_ long but eventually gave up. I was friend zoned." He informed, pretending to whisper. "I feel like Red is kind of kinky." Emily blushed and covered her face with her hands. I wasn't sure if she was laughing or about to cry, probably both. "You know honestly I think I'd just have to have a three-way. Then after that I would choose who I'd rather fuck." Cook explained. I looked accusingly at JJ. With a shaky hand he set an empty pack of STUN pills on the table.

"He took them from my room I didn't even know until we got here." He explained. I nudged Emily and pointed to the pack. Her eyes widened and she tapped Cook.

"Cook, how many did you take?" Emily asked and Cook grinned like a little boy.

"All of them!" He admitted mischievously before raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to punish me?"

"Ew James, please sit down." I demanded and he made a face at me before standing on top of the table.

"You're a mess, Cook." JJ observed. Cook grinned smuttily and started gyrating.

"Cook!" Emily squealed as he threw his shirt at her.

"I think I'll be a stripper!" He shouted. The entire bar was staring now and Cook just seemed to love the attention. Now that I thought of it stripping would be a fitting profession for him. Emily stood up on the bench and grabbed his arm.

"Sit down, Cook." Emily advised and he pulled her up onto the table and started dancing on her.

"James stop, really. I think you should sit down." I shouted and he let Emily go, who looked more than a little traumatized.

"Oh I know what you want." He jumped off of the table and shook his finger at me. "Tsk tsk, naughty."

"Cook what are you doing?" I asked.

"Lap dances cost extra, you know." He chuckled and I shook my head.

"That is absolutely fine I really don't even want one so-"

"For you I'll make an exception." He grinned and moved to sit on me. I scooted out of the way just in time and Freddie took my place so Cook was stuck between him and JJ.

"Please watch out for him." I begged and Freddie laughed.

"I've actually never seen stripper Cook, that's a new one." He informed and I shook my head.  
"Let's hope that was his first and last appearance." Emily took my hand and we went to the bar.

"Your friend seems nice." Sophia observed, having followed us.

"He keeps things interesting." Emily laughed, playing nice.

"So this is going to sound a bit awkward."

"Shoot."

"Do you know anyone who sells MDMA?" Sophia asked and Emily laughed at the face I made.

"No not really." Emily shrugged. She was lying, our group probably had ten grams in total on us that night.

"Really? I thought Cook dealt." Sophia asked, seeming disappointed.

"Not anymore. Apparently some people were asking him for drugs just to report him." I explained pointedly, not trusting Sophia at all.

"Well that's stupid. I just want to get fucked up." Sophia laughed, the words sounded off. Emily picked up on this.

"Are you okay?" She asked, the worry evident on her face. I didn't like her concern but I understood it was in her nature to care. Sophia downed someone's abandoned drink.

"Yeah, fine. Have fun." She said quickly and then ran off.

"That was kind of weird." Emily observed, grabbing her beer.

"Kind of?" We looked over to see that the table had pretty much dissipated.

"Is that Katie and Eff?" Emily asked, pointing to the balcony.

"Maybe, shall we?" I asked, holding out my arm. It took probably twenty fucking minutes to get to the balcony and by then there was no sign of Katie or Effy.

"Fuck's sake." Emily groaned, taking a swig of her beer. I turned to walk back down the stairs but she caught my arm about halfway down.

"What?" I asked.

"You look really sexy." She giggled, kissing me. I blushed, not usually being one for PDA but then realized I didn't really give a shit right now. I pulled Emily into me, her beer precariously resting on my shoulder. We had finally talked about our futures and what we wanted to do other than each other. I could feel her smile as we kissed, and I started smiling and it was just us kissing and smiling and it was easily the happiest I had ever felt.

That is until we heard the scream.

**Chapter 11 ( Forgot to put it on the last chapter)**

**Will she say yes?: Fell in love without you - Motion City Soundtrack**

**Alone in the room: Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional**

**Talking about the Future: Siberia (Acoustic) - Lights**

**Sexy Time: Edge of Desire -John Mayer**

**If Ashley Had a Song for Naomi: Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance with You - The Black Kids**

**Naomi Deciding They Were Official: So Long to the Headstrong - Fleet Foxes**

**Chapter 12**

**Effy's Admittance: Begin Again - Taylor Swift (Cheesy I know)**

**Kieran and Gina dancing: If you leave me now - Chicago**

**In the Club: Voodoo - Spiral Beach**

**Cook Stripping: High for this - Ellie Goulding**

**Smiley Kisses: iFly - Ball Park Music**

**Sorry for the cliffhanger: Free of Me - Joshua Radin**


End file.
